Torino Vs. Cagliari: Final Score 0-1 As Cagliari Get Their First Win

It may have taken a dubious penalty, but Cagliari won't care: their narrow 1-0 victory over Torino gives the isolani their first win of the season, although they remain in the relegation zone.

Earlier this week, Cagliari sent Massimo Ficcadenti packing. Working on the theory that two heads are better than one, Massimo Cellino replaced Ficcadenti with head coach Ivo Pulga and assistant Diego Lopez. But after Torino's 5-1 victory over Atalanta last weekend, the duo couldn't have had high hopes.

But the visitors started off brightly, with Danilo Avelar forcing a dramatic save from Jean-François Gillet. Albin Ekdal found the net, but the goal was disallowed as the whistle had blown.

Torino had their share in the first half as well, with halfway decent attempts by Alessandro Sgrigna and Alen Stevanović, but somehow it was the visitors that were controlling the match.

The home side had a good shout for a penalty in the 55th minute when Avelar handled the bar. The linesman raised his flag, but referee Domenico Celi continued right on. Instead it was Cagliari that were awarded the penalty, twenty minutes later. It was Kamil Glik who used his hands, although it looked as though he was simply protecting his face from Davide Astori's strike. No matter, Nenê stepped up to the spot to give his side the lead -- and, ultimately, the win.

With about five minutes left to play, Torino thought they'd grabbed a point back when Rolando Bianchi nodded in a free kick. No dice -- the flag went up for offside and il granata were left with nothing.