Super Eagles eligible defender Caleb Okoli was a second-half substitute for Frosinone as they lost 4-3 to Cagliari in their Serie A clash on Sunday afternoon, Soccernet.ng reports.
Frosinone were the better side for the first 70 minutes of the encounter played in front of thousands of fans inside the Unipol Domus.
Matias Soule opened the scoring for the visitors in the 23rd minute, and he doubled his side’s advantage shortly after Marco Mancosu missed a penalty for Cagliari.
And four minutes into the second period, Frosinone made it three-nil as Marco Brescianini stabbed home a close-range finish.
The home side appeared dead and buried until Gaetano Oristanio pulled one back in the 72nd minute.
Four minutes later, Antoine Makoumbou made it 2-3 for Cagliari as the crack in Frosinone’s defence widened.
Manager Francesco sent Atalanta loanee Okoli to replace Marco Brescianini in the 81st minute as the visitors looked to stem the tide of the Cagliari attack.
Okoli’s presence was quickly felt moments later as he entered the referee’s book for a professional tackle.
However, nothing could halt Cagliari’s comeback as Leonardo Pavoletti headed home the equaliser to make it 3-3 four minutes into stoppage time.
And Pavoletti completed the turnaround for the hosts when he struck the winner that handed Cagliari only their first win of the season.
Cagliari: the first team in the history of #SerieA to win a match having been three goals down in the 70th minute.
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) October 29, 2023
IMPRESSIVE. pic.twitter.com/camQlxs588
According to the league body, the win makes Cagliari the first team in the history of Serie A to win a match, having been three goals down in the 70th minute.
For Okoli, it is his seventh Serie A appearance for Frosinone since he joined on loan from Atalanta in the summer.
The 22-year-old centre-back remains a player of interest for Nigeria even as the Super Eagles look for long-term replacements for the aging trio of Kenneth Omeruo, William Troost-Ekong, and Semi Ajayi.
Despite featuring for Italy’s youth teams, Okoli remains a player of interest to Super Eagles head coach Jose Peseiro.
