Cagliari Calcio remain without guaranteed safety in the Serie A relegation battle after suffering a 2-0 home defeat to Udinese Calcio on Saturday in Sardinia.
Goals from Adam Buksa and Idrissa Gueye secured maximum points for Udinese at the Unipol Domus, lifting the visitors closer to the top half of the table.
Cagliari created the better openings in the opening half, but Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye delivered two impressive saves with his feet to deny Marco Palestra and Gianluca Gaetano from close range.
The hosts were later awarded a penalty after the ball struck Jesper Karlström inside the area, but the decision was overturned following a VAR review, with officials ruling that the midfielder’s arm was in a natural position.
Udinese improved after the break and nearly opened the scoring when Nicolò Zaniolo struck the outside of the post from distance.
The breakthrough eventually arrived through Buksa, who netted his fourth league goal of the season.
Hassane Kamara surged down the left flank before setting up the Polish striker, who calmly beat Elia Caprile from close range.
Cagliari pushed for an equaliser and almost found one through Alberto Dossena, but Karlström produced a crucial goal-line clearance with a header.
The home side continued to commit bodies forward, leaving gaps at the back for Udinese to exploit on the counterattack.
Substitute Keinan Davis missed a clear chance after racing through on goal, but later redeemed himself by assisting Gueye, who sealed the victory deep into stoppage time.
Tempers flared after the final whistle as players from both sides became involved in a brief confrontation, with Davis among those needing to be restrained by teammates.
Despite the defeat, Cagliari remain 15th in the standings and could still secure Serie A survival if 18th-placed Cremonese fail to beat Pisa on Sunday.
