Cagliari forward Daniel Maldini scored against Atalanta on Saturday to help Fabio Pisacane's side claim a 2-1 victory away from home, a result that lifts the Sardinians to fourth in Serie A with nine points from four matches.
The win is significant for more than its position in the table. Cagliari have now beaten a side managed by Maurizio Sarri — a coach whose tactical identity demands a specific kind of defensive discipline and pressing intelligence from the opposition — and done so away from home. Pisacane acknowledged that his team made the most of Atalanta's difficulties adapting to Sarri's ideas, which suggests the victory was as much about preparation as individual quality. Maldini's contribution, alongside Mendy, was the cutting edge that made the preparation count.
For Maldini himself, the goal is his second in four Serie A appearances this season, and it arrives at a moment when his trajectory is sharpening. His average match rating of 6.92 across those four matches reflects consistent involvement rather than isolated brilliance, and two goals without an assist suggests he is operating as a finisher rather than a creator in Pisacane's system. That is not a criticism — Cagliari have scored only four goals in four matches, meaning Maldini accounts for half of them. A 24-year-old forward carrying that share of the attacking load in a team sitting fourth is doing something right.
His AI overall of 70 out of 100, with a potential of 74, frames him as a player approaching his ceiling rather than one still discovering it. The gap between those two numbers is narrow, which means the value he offers now is close to the value he will offer at his best. For a club like Cagliari, that is a practical asset: a forward who delivers in the present, not one who requires patience.
Harry Winks credited Pisacane with giving the squad the confidence to face anyone, and the results so far — three wins from four, including this one against la Dea — support that reading. Cagliari have conceded only twice in those four matches, which means Maldini is operating within a structure that does not ask him to carry the team alone.
Pisacane was clear after the final whistle that fourth place is not the destination. Maldini, two goals deep into a season that has barely started, looks like the kind of forward who can help decide how far this Cagliari side actually travels.