Cagliari enjoys the fairy tale of Paul Mendy

A real fairy tale. In his first start in Serie A, Paul Mendy scored two goals in eight minutes against Atalanta. Until then he had played only 80 minutes total in the previous four games, against Napoli, Sassuolo, Cremonese and Inter. The young striker, born in 2007, is part of the Cagliari team coached by Fabio Pisacane.

Mendy is one of the youngsters enhanced by the Sardinian club during the season, coming from the Primavera team and gradually inserted into the first team. Pisacane himself, after the success in the Italian Cup of his category with the youth sector, has given space to several youngsters in Serie A as well.

The decision to launch Mendy from the first minute represented a surprise move compared to the predictions of the eve of the match: in the probable lineups circulated before the match, The striker arrived in Cagliari in the winter market of 2025, on the indication of Roberto Muzzi, technical coordinator of the Under-20 team, who had observed him and reported him to the club. The transfer came from the Senegalese ASC Bambey.

Atalanta an absolute level opponent, which makes the 18-year-old’s double in his first start in the top flight even more significant.