The home side couldn’t have wished for a better start to the contest, as they took the lead with only 15 seconds played when Michel Adopo supplied a cross into the area that was headed home by Paul Mendy, making his first start in Serie A.
Mendy and his teammates were in dreamland just seven minutes later, as the 19-year-old struck for a second time to double the Isolani’s advantage.
Atalanta had failed to clear their lines from a corner, and when Alessandro Deiola’s initial effort was saved by Marco Carnesecchi, Mendy’s strike on the rebound deflected off an unfortunate Berat Djimsiti to direct the ball into the right side of the net.
The visitors were struggling to find inspiration in a below-par first half, but against the run of play, they managed to get back on level terms in the final five minutes before the break.
After sending his right-footed effort from inside the area into the far corner of the net to halve the deficit, Gianluca Scamacca made it a quick-fire brace as he turned Giorgio Scalvini’s low cross home from close range, stunning Cagliari and their supporters.
An injury-stricken Mendy missed out on the opportunity to achieve the rare feat of netting a hat-trick on his debut as he was withdrawn at half-time, but the alteration had no impact on the hosts’ fortunes as less than two minutes after the restart, Mendy’s replacement Gennaro Borrelli pounced on a loose ball from Michael Folorunsho’s blocked effort to restore Cagliari’s lead.
The Isolani had won just one of their previous 10 league games (D2, L7), but they were displaying a renewed confidence to thwart any comeback from La Dea, whose only moment of note in a disappointing second half came eight minutes from time when Nikola Krstović’s first-time shot from inside the area was well saved by Elia Caprile.
Ultimately, the result sees Cagliari open up a healthy eight-point buffer to the relegation zone with four games remaining, while Atalanta face an uphill task if they are to claim a European place as they remain seventh and seven points adrift of the sixth and final continental spot.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Paul Mendy (Cagliari)