Gianluca Gaetano struck late to hand Cagliari a precious 1-0 win over a 10-man Roma at the Unipol Domus, ending the Sardinian side’s nine-match winless run in Serie A.

Despite their title-challenging credentials, Roma were second best for long spells of the first half as the relegation-battling hosts started with far greater urgency. The early pressure almost brought a reward when Gennaro Borrelli tumbled inside the box after seven minutes, but the referee judged he had been fairly dispossessed.

Roma arrived in Sardinia with 27 points – their strongest tally after 13 league fixtures since 2017/18 – yet a lack of cutting edge continues to hamper them. A solitary effort on target before the interval summed up their attacking struggles. In contrast, Cagliari threatened through Sebastiano Esposito, whose near-post strike forced Mile Svilar into a sharp save before the teams headed in level at the break.

The home side picked up where they left off after the restart and were briefly awarded a penalty when Zeki Çelik was penalised for a foul on Michael Folorunsho. However, after consulting the monitor, referee Luca Zufferli downgraded the decision to a free-kick on the edge of the area — but still sent the Roma defender off, leaving the visitors with a man disadvantage for the remaining 40 minutes.

Buoyed by the numerical advantage, Cagliari poured forward. Adam Obert’s persistence inside the area nearly brought the breakthrough, only for Svilar to again deny the hosts with a strong save.

Roma, who had won five of the previous six meetings between the teams, continued to resist doggedly. But their resolve finally cracked in the 82nd minute. A corner delivery skipped through to the untracked Gaetano at the back post, and the midfielder drilled a precise finish into the bottom-left corner to claim his first Serie A goal of the campaign and ignite jubilant celebrations around the stadium.

The victory — Cagliari’s first in front of their own fans in five matches — lifts them four points clear of the relegation zone. Roma remain fourth, but their defeat sees them lose ground in a tightly-packed title race, sitting just three points behind leaders Inter but ruing another missed opportunity to strengthen their position.