Despite a great performance, Lapadula couldn’t celebrate in the first leg of the Serie B final. Cagliari drew 1-1 with Bari after winning through a goal from the Peruvian.
From the start, the local team went in search of the game. In the 9th minute, the Bambino made good use of a cross from the right, outwitted the defense and hit the opposing goalkeeper with a header. The emotions didn’t stop in the first half when Gianluca scored another goal but the referee didn’t recognize it due to a forward position.
But in the 38th minute, a move from the right culminated in a shot that hit Uruguay’s Nahitan Nández’s hand and the referee awarded a penalty after consulting VAR. The front Walid Cheddira kicked out of 12 steps, but the Serb Boris Radunovic he caught it.
In the plug-in, the Barça team tried everything they could to increase the score and even Lapadula had the second goal in the 77th minute, but the ball went just wide. The international striker, who was in question until a few days ago because of knee pain, was substituted eleven minutes before the end for the experienced Leonardo Pavoletti.
As Cagliari set up the celebration, a penalty in favor of Bari, also checked by VAR, was leveled by Mirco Antenucci in the 95th minute. He placed the ball on the opposite side of goalkeeper Radunovic. A heartbreak that can be exchanged for a smile in the second leg, to be played this Sunday 11 June at 13:30 (Peruvian time). Cagliari, with Lapadula on the field, has an obligation to win as a draw takes the championship to Bari, who ended the regular tournament in a better position in the table.