Gustavo Varela double leads Monza to 4-0 rout of Cagliari at the Brianteo

Monza beat Cagliari 4-0 in Serie A on Monday 19 October, with Gustavo Varela scoring twice and setting up another at the Stadio Brianteo. It was only their second league win of the season, after seven rounds.

The hosts led at the break through Eddy Kouadio and then pulled away in the second half. Cagliari never found a reply.

Varela reaches six league goals

Kouadio opened the scoring in the 39th minute, assisted by Dany Mota. That was the only goal of the first half.

Monza needed two minutes after the restart to double the lead. Varela scored in the 47th minute from an Ondoa assist, and the striker then turned provider in the 66th, setting up Jay Robinson for the third.

Varela completed his double in the 79th minute. He was rated 9.71, the highest on the pitch, with Kouadio next on 8.61 and Robinson on 8.2. The two goals take Varela to six in the league, level with Malen and one behind Frosinone’s Raimondo at the top of the scoring chart.

Törnqvist makes five saves as Cagliari waste chances

The scoreline flattered Monza on the balance of play. Cagliari had 55% of the ball, completed 431 passes to Monza’s 347 and won seven corners to two.

Pisacane’s side also had more attempts, 16 to 14, and their expected goals figure of 2.11 was almost identical to Monza’s 2.1. The difference came in front of goal. Törnqvist made five saves at one end, while Caprile made two at the other, and Monza scored four times from six shots on target.

The game turned scrappy late on. Harry Winks was booked for a foul in the 76th minute, and Samuele Birindelli and Alieu Fadera were both shown yellow cards for arguing in the 82nd.

Cagliari’s unbeaten run ends at four

Cagliari arrived having drawn 1-1 with Juventus after three straight wins over Lecce, Atalanta and Udinese. They are seventh with 13 points, level with Frosinone, and their goal difference is now -1.

Monza are 14th on 7 points. They had lost 3-1 to Lazio in their previous outing and had won only one of the five matches before Monday.

The result also ends a poor run in the fixture. Cagliari had won the previous two meetings, 2-1 in Monza in January 2025 and 3-0 in Sardinia in March 2025. This was Monza’s first win over them since a 1-0 at home on 16 March 2024.

Monza travel to Torino on Friday 23 October. Cagliari host Bologna a day later, on Saturday 24 October.

Read also: Lazio beat ten-man Monza 3-1 to draw level with Inter at the top

📷 Stadio Brianteo: Simonemb, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons