Sunday 28 September 2014 22:29, UK
Cagliari moved off the foot of the Serie A table as Albin Ekdal's explosive 15-minute hat-trick gave them a famous 4-1 triumph at 10-man Inter Milan on Sunday afternoon.
In a dramatic opening half, Ekdal struck three times shortly after Inter captain Yuto Nagatomo was sent off for two bookable offences as the Sardinian club romped to their maiden win of the season - handing Inter their first defeat in the process.
The visitors took an early lead through Marco Sau, which was cancelled out by Dani Osvaldo, but the game truly came to life following the dismissal of Nagatomo, with Cagliari midfielder Andrea Cossu also missing a penalty as Inter threatened to implode.
AC Milan were also thwarted in their quest for three points, Cesena holding Filippo Inzaghi's men to a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Dino Manuzzi.
Adil Rami secured the visitors a point with a 19th-minute equaliser to cancel out Davide Succi's early opener.
The Rossoneri had plenty of chances to claim the spoils from the top-flight strugglers, with Fernando Torres wasting the most straightforward.
Cristian Zapata was sent off for a professional foul in the closing stages to compound Milan's frustrations.
Napoli survived a late Sassuolo surge to ease the pressure on under-fire boss Rafael Benitez with a 1-0 win at the Mapei Stadium.
With just four points from their opening four encounters, Benitez came into the match with his job on the line after not winning a league match since the opening day of the season.
And the former Chelsea boss will be thankful that the home side did not convert one of their late chances after Jose Callejon gave the visitors a deserved lead.
Fiorentina's Khouma Babacar grabbed a late equaliser to secure a point for Viola as they drew 1-1 at Torino.
Senegalese striker Babacar struck 12 minutes from time from the right-hand side of the penalty area after being released by Federico Bernardeschi.
Torino had taken the lead after 62 minutes when Fabio Quagliarella finished Bruno Peres' pass into the bottom corner of Norberto Murara Neto's goal.
Chievo's clash with Empoli also finished 1-1, former Middlesbrough striker Massimo Maccarone teeing up Manuel Pucciarelli to salvage a point for the visitors just before the hour after Riccardo Meggiorini had given the Flying Donkeys the lead.
Sampdoria moved up to third in the standings, ahead of Udinese's clash with Parma on Monday night, thanks to a 1-0 victory in the Derby della Lanterna against Genoa in the Sunday evening kick-off.
Manolo Gabbiadini scored the only goal of the game for the 'visitors' at the shared Stadio Luigi Ferraris with a free-kick 15 minutes from time to earn the Blucerchiati their third win of the season, extending their unbeaten start to the campaign.
