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Lazio got off to a bad start, but recovered after Cagliari went down to 10 men as Mauro Zarate bagged a brace on his debut.
The Sardinians completed an incredible comeback to stay in Serie A last season, but still replaced Coach Davide Ballardini with debutant Massimiliano Allegri. Despite struggling to mid-table, Lazio kept hold of Delio Rossi and began the campaign without the injured Tommaso Rocchi, Lorenzo De Silvestri, Ousmane Dabo and Mourad Meghni. Rossi was in the stands to sit out a ban, so assistant manager Crialesi led out the squad.
Curiously, Cagliari only fielded one new player - goalkeeper Marchetti - while Lazio started with five summer signings. Among them was former Birmingham City star Mauro Zarate, who drilled wide early on.
Goran Pandev's left-foot strike was deflected just over the bar, but Cagliari went closer than anyone on 24 minutes. Larrivey really should've ut the home side ahead from close range, but turned his free header on to the base of the upright from a chipped cross.
Cagliari finally found a way through with Larrivey, who was a disastrous flop last season, but showed he is settling in to Serie A. He chested down an Andrea Cossu assist and took a few steps before placing the angled drive into the far bottom corner.
Rozehnal prevented Larrivey and Jeda from combining again before half-time, as Lazio were struggling in Sardinia. Former Cagliari starlet Pasquale Foggia replaced Cristian Brocchi for the second half, moving Stefano Mauri behind the two strikers.
Francelino Matuzalem's long-range effort was saved, but Lazio got their chance in curious circumstances. Goran Pandev's shot was past the goalkeeper and Lopez seemed to have the goalline clearance covered, but he slipped and ended up punching it off the line instead. The red card and penalty were inevitable, converted coolly by Zarate for his debut Serie A goal.
Zarate made it a debut to remember, as he completed his brace soon after. A horrible defensive error from Magliocchetti handed Zarate the ball clear on goal from nine yards.
Cagliari had fallen apart and Foggia was free to tap in Aleksandr Kolarov's low cross across the face of goal. In respect of his former fans and teammates, he did not celebrate.
Pandev rounded out the scoreline further on Foggia's assist, turning two markers to fire in at the near post.
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