Still sweating from Fiorentina match, aye guys? That really was one hell of a match, a hard-fought victory. However, one trial done, coming another. The team should quickly leave the euphoria of the previous game, keeping the winning momentum by treating any match as final.
This time we are playing another tricky away game against Cagliari. I’ve been following the team since last season, so I can say that I’m quite familiar with their way of playing. Here’s my analysis.
Playing Style
Basically, Cagliari are a team playing with one-touch-passing (sometime combined with quick counter), hence you should not expect seeing their players hold the ball more than five second. In another words, they rely on team movement rather than individual brilliance of certain players.
At the beginning of the match, they usually field Pinilla as a prime target for direct passes from the midfield/back. But, as the game goes on, you can expect Ibarbo will replace his position, resulting their passing more concentrated on wide areas. Ibarbo himself is a player who can make catastrophe for any tiring defenders with his burst of speed, so our defense need to be concentrated for the whole 90 minutes (I have feeling Nagatomo will be his main prey, due to considerable difference in body size and power).
Preferred Formation
They usually use 4-3-1-2 formation. But when against a stronger team, they may switch to a more defensive variant of 4-3-2-1.
Strengths
Any opponents should have difficulties to win midfield battles against Cagliari, since they have a set of combative midfielders, consisting of Nainggolan-Conti-Ekdal. To make things worse, they are not only good at retrieving the ball, but each of them is a quality when it comes to deliver the ball forward or score the goal.
Before the match against Fiorentina, I’d rather to fight them with our own version of fighter midfielders (Taider-Cambiasso-Guarin). But then I realized that this is a good opportunity for Kovacic to prove his quality in the team. As Guarin was having relatively poor performance in the previous match, Kova should start to take his place in first line-up.
Weaknesses
Their defense is nothing particularly special. I’ve always thought that their best defender, Davide Astori is poorer version of Ranocchia. Thus, maybe Palacio could exploit his speed advantages to create something out of it.
Notable Players
Marco Sau. There have not been players who are alike in characteristic. But, for the purpose of giving an impression, Sau is basically their Palacio. A striker with good mobility, but with lesser speed and stamina than his Argentinian compatriot. Not only that, as showed in the match against Milan this season, he has actually good curling shot ability from outside the area, meaning he’s as lethal in any area near the box.
Radja Nainggolan. As I observed their game this season, I realized that this guy is being more and more influential in Cagliari’s passing game. Not surprising actually, since Nainggolan’s main strength lies on his accurate forward and diagonal pass. I picked him over Daniele Conti as my second choice due to his longer longevity, making him a more dangerous player across 90 minutes. Beware of his first time shot, it’s a top notch.
Daniele Conti. Their Il Capitano. Whenever watching him plays, I’ve always thought to myself,”Man, this guy, had he reached his peaked in younger age; he might have been a starting material in a big team”. Playing as a deep-lying playmaker, Conti is their poorer version of Pirlo, as well as Cagliari’s central reference when it comes to spraying passes to wide areas. He’s also their main set-piece taker. His well-placed freekick goal against Sampdoria is a proof of his quality in this aspect.
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