Cagliari edge closer to Serie A safety after tearing apart Parma

Cagliari have given themselves hope in their fight to survive relegation from Serie A by thrashing doomed Parma 4-0 in their clash at the Stadio Sant'Elia.

The hosts broke the deadlock in the third minute as good play from Luca Ceppitelli and Luca Rossettini set up Albin Ekdal, who fired a vicious shot past Alessandro Iacobucci and into the net.

Cagliari then doubled their lead just before the quarter-hour mark, Paul-Jose M'Poku's ball to Diego Farias leaving the Brazilian able to slot home past the Parma stopper.

The game was all but over in the 38th minute when Danilo Avelar sprung the offside trap to set up M'Poku, who charged forward and tucked the ball into the bottom-left corner.

Parma suffered yet more humiliation just after the hour as Avelar's cross into the box was fired home by Duje Cop for the home side's fourth goal.

The result puts Cagliari six points away from safety in the Serie A table with four games to go, while cash-strapped Parma are already relegated.