Surprises in Azzurri Colours
Five matches are too few to draw definitive conclusions, but enough to recognise a remarkable start. Cagliari and Frosinone are the two big surprise packages of the opening stages of the Serie A Enilive season: two provincial sides unaccustomed to looking down from the top of the table, driven by a strong identity and a deeply Italian soul.
Cagliari have collected 12 points from a possible 15, losing only to Inter, and sit fourth on their own, just one point behind the leading trio of Roma, Inter and Lazio. Frosinone, newly promoted, are next on 10 points, sitting sixth alongside Juventus and Como.
Cagliari have won four of their first five Serie A matches for only the second time in their history: the first came in 1969/70, the season of their historic Scudetto triumph. They had also never previously started a league campaign by winning their first three away matches. Frosinone, meanwhile, had never made such a strong start in the top flight. Their 10 points surpass the eight they collected in their first five matches of the 2023/24 season; their nine goals also represent a new high, one more than in their previous top-flight campaign.
Two exhilarating starts with several things in common: a core of players deeply rooted in their respective clubs, young players developed in-house, two goalkeepers among the best performers of the opening stages and unexpected Italian goalscorers. Palmisani and Caprile have protected their respective goals, while Raimondo and Maldini have got off to a good scoring start. These are the common ingredients behind two teams who have nevertheless chosen very different tactical approaches.
Frosinone: The Strength of Those Who Were Already There
The victory over Como perhaps best illustrated the project built by Massimiliano Alvini. Seven Italians in the starting XI, more than any other team on the matchday and nine starters who were already at the club last season: the group that earned promotion to Serie A on the pitch is showing that it can cope with the step up. It is a young squad committed to the project, with an average age of 23.9, the second-lowest in the league after Monza’s.
Against Como, the opening goal was scored by Giacomo Calò, who netted his first Serie A goal at the age of 29 after a long career in Serie B. The second tier’s leading assist provider last season, he does not appear to have lost any of his creativity at the higher level: after five matchdays, he is already second in Serie A for chances and big chances created, behind only Dybala. The second goal, once again at the end of a well-worked move, came from young Georgian Zuriko Kvernadze.
Lorenzo Palmisani then made sure of the victory. The goalkeeper developed in Frosinone’s youth academy kept the door firmly shut with at least six spectacular saves and an impressive 2.64 goals prevented, earning a clean sheet and the PANINI Player of the Match award.
It was a stunning performance and the perfect way to celebrate his call-up to the Under-21 squad, which he shared with four teammates Calvani, Cichella, Fini and Raimondo. It was also further confirmation of his positive impact in Serie A: Palmisani is second in the league for goals prevented (3) and third for save percentage (84%).
Pressing to Surprise
Alvini has built a team that wants to attack the game, even if that means leaving space in behind. Frosinone are first in Serie A for PPDA (7.58) and fourth for recoveries in the final third. Against Como, this approach was particularly evident in the pressure applied to the two Como midfielders: high pressing, individual duels and a willingness to accept one-on-one situations.
Controlling games through possession, meanwhile, is not a priority. Frosinone are bottom for successful passes per match (200) and passing accuracy (71.8%), and 18th for possession at 41.5%. Their lack of control on the ball is compensated for by an extremely aggressive defensive approach: they rank third for interceptions and tackles and first for clearances and aerial duels, with Cittadini and Monterisi undisputed leaders of the back line.
That same aggression also produces results at the other end of the pitch. No team has scored more goals than Frosinone in the first half: seven, the same as Roma. Press, win the ball back, play vertically: Alvini’s recipe for immediately taking the game into the territory his players prefer.
Maldini, nine points from three goals
If Palmisani is one of the faces of Frosinone, Daniel Maldini is the poster boy for Cagliari.
He has scored in three consecutive appearances for the first time in Serie A, and, more importantly, all three have been winning goals. Nine points have come directly from his goals. His repertoire also tells the story of a player who has rediscovered his best form: the header against Lecce, the penalty against his former club Atalanta, and finally the poacher’s finish at Udinese, a less spectacular goal, but perhaps even more significant in terms of concentration and competitive edge. Three goals scored in different ways, but identical in importance.
The run has earned him a return to the national team, having last featured in December 2025. And Maldini will not be the only Rossoblù player joining up with Mancini: Alessandro Romano, the 2006-born midfielder and one of the surprises of Cagliari’s impressive start, has received his first senior call-up. It is another sign of the Italian identity at the heart of Pisacane’s Cagliari.
Behind them stands Elia Caprile, the quiet protagonist of their rise. The goalkeeper leads Serie A for save percentage (90.5%) and ranks third for goals prevented, with a figure of 2.6. The numbers help explain one of Cagliari’s most impressive statistics: just two goals conceded in five matches, making them the best defence in the league.
Cagliari know how to w****ait
If Frosinone go looking for their opponents, Cagliari know how to wait for them. Pisacane’s side do not need to compete for possession for long to feel involved in the game: they stay compact, are happy to defend deeper and carefully choose the moment to strike.
The numbers make their position in the table even more remarkable. The Sardinians are second-bottom for possession (40.7%) and touches in the opposition box (75), 17th for total shots (54), 18th for big chances created (7) and bottom for PPDA (19.89). And yet they have 12 points.
Four wins, all by a one-goal margin, three clean sheets and just two goals conceded. Cagliari are turning tight matches, often played on a knife edge, into valuable points, relying on their compactness and an almost clinical efficiency when it matters most.
This is where the paths of Pisacane and Alvini cross once again. When the game demands it, both teams know how to sacrifice aesthetics: Frosinone and Cagliari are in fact the top two teams in Serie A for clearances per match.
The difference lies in what happens beforehand. Frosinone try to push the danger away by attacking forward, increasing their pressure and intensity; Cagliari narrow the spaces, absorb the pressure and wait for the right moment to break. Two different interpretations of the same ability: taking the game into the territory that suits them.
And that is how, after five matches, Cagliari and Frosinone have earned the right to look down on Serie A from the top. Not merely two surprising starts, but two teams that have already found a recognisable identity and players capable of bringing it to life.
After the break, the schedule will suddenly raise the bar: Napoli-Frosinone and Cagliari-Juventus. From surprises to big challenges, with no stepping stones in between. For the Sardinians and the Ciociari, it will be an opportunity to discover whether this dizzying feeling can become the norm.