Roma must have had a half dozen chances to score in the first half. The upright, crossbar, and Federico Marchetti in goal conspired to keep Roma out. Simone Perotta had an offside goal turned down. Roma doubled down in the second half as they went looking for the elusive goal but Marchetti proved to be a tough nut to crack.
These missed chances became critical as Cagliari against the run of play went ahead through Andrea Lazzari’s free kick which skimmed past Julio Sergio. It was only in the 78th minute after an number of close shaves that Totti was fortuitously able to squeeze a ball past Marchetti. Five minutes later, there was an even bigger stroke of luck as David Biondani handled the ball in the box and Totti, an automatic in these penalty situations duly converted. The Romanistas could afford to breathe finally.
For Totti, it was an eventful week where he was vilified by the media for the Balotelli kicking incident which led to his expulsion from the Coppa Italia. The incident prompted Marcelo Lippi to drop him from consideration for the national team after Totti had announced he would come back from international retirement.