Match report
Cagliari edge dominant Udinese thanks to Maldini strike
Cagliari left Bluenergy Stadium - Stadio Friuli with a 1-0 win over Udinese in matchday five of Serie A, despite being second best for long spells. Daniel Maldini's 54th-minute finish proved the only goal, moving the away side into a 0-1 lead they never surrendered.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
Udinese dominated territory and chances, controlling 65 percent of possession and firing 26 shots to Cagliari's five, but could not find a breakthrough either side of half-time, with the sides level at 0-0 at the interval. Maldini's goal shortly after the restart changed the complexion of the contest entirely.
Cagliari, third in the table before kick-off against a Udinese side sitting 13th, held firm for the remainder despite conceding 16 corners to just one and being penned back for large periods. The result stretched the visitors' recent run to three wins in their last five outings.
Elia Caprile was Cagliari's top-rated performer with a 7.84 rating, marshalling a defence that survived Udinese's heavy pressure without registering a save-worthy contribution beyond the scoreline.
Udinese's 26 shots to Cagliari's five underlined how one-sided the territorial battle was, even though it yielded only a single goal across the match.
Cagliari won 1–0 away against Udinese (half-time 0–0).
Udinese met Cagliari in the Serie A (Regular Season - 5). Kick-off was Saturday, 19 September 2026, 13:00 UTC at Bluenergy Stadium - Stadio Friuli. Referee: Gianluca Manganiello.
Key moments
- 54' Goal: Daniel Maldini — 0–1 · Watch Daniel Maldini's goal video (54')
Starting line-ups
Udinese (3-4-2-1)
Cagliari (4-3-1-2)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Udinese 40%, the draw 33%, Cagliari 27%. It finished Udinese 0–1 Cagliari.
Level sides, home ground swings it, even this early in the season — Nothing separates them on our strength rating, and Udinese's 40% is home ground and little else. The draw at 33% is lifted by a low-scoring environment.
Why Udinese in front?
Home ground, and little else. Almost nothing between them on our strength rating — 1740 to 1698. Sides this close won 45.6% of 14,661 home games (draw 26.5%, visitors 27.9%).
Why only 40%?
Because on our strength rating there is nothing in it. Both sides are inside their first six league games — home wins land softer this early in the season, so this trims Udinese's column. Across 11,181 opening-stretch games since 2010, home sides won 42.7% where the rating map expected 44.9%, with draws up 2.0 — negative in every season since 2018. Serie A home sides under-perform the global norm — and the difference mostly flows to the other outcomes. Serie A homes won 43.3% of 6,122 games vs 44.9% across all 100,303 — outside the noise band, so the tally moves accordingly.
Why is the draw second, ahead of the Cagliari win?
Between sides this level the draw starts at 26.5%. These teams' recent games average 2.3 goals — a low-scoring environment. Games in that environment drew 28.1% of 18,221. The goals environment adds 3.6 points to the draw. Early-season fixtures add 2.0 points to the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
Cagliari have rebuilt the eleven — fewer of last season's regular starters are still starting. Squad turnover reads dramatic but hasn't moved results once the rating is controlled: the busiest windows landed within noise across 5,368 games, rebuilt elevens likewise across 5,446, and even losing the most regular starters showed nothing (5,336). Udinese won 3 of the last 6 meetings with Cagliari. The record is 3 wins for Udinese, 2 draws and 1 win for Cagliari. These were 1 Coppa Italia game and 5 Serie A games played at both grounds between 1 November 2023 and 9 May 2026. Latest meeting: 9 May 2026 — Cagliari 0–2 Udinese. In 5,104 historical matches between similarly rated teams, home sides with the stronger head-to-head record won 43.0%.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Udinese vs Cagliari final score and result, goal highlights and video clips of every goal, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this Serie A fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
Watch the goals: goal highlights and video clips of every goal from Udinese 0–1 Cagliari. Explore more on the Udinese and Cagliari team pages or the Serie A page.
Quick answers
›What was the final score of Udinese vs Cagliari?
Cagliari won 1–0 away against Udinese (half-time 0–0).
›Who scored in Udinese vs Cagliari?
Daniel Maldini (54') for Cagliari.
›Where can I watch Udinese vs Cagliari highlights?
Goal highlights and video clips from Udinese 0–1 Cagliari are on this page — open the videos tab to watch every goal.
›What is the head-to-head record between Udinese and Cagliari?
Udinese and Cagliari have met 10 times — 5 wins for Udinese, 2 wins for Cagliari and 3 draws.