Paulo Dybala stars in Palermo win

Paulo Dybala scored twice as Palermo thumped 10-man Cagliari Calcio 5-0 in Serie A on Tuesday afternoon.

It took just five minutes for the home side to open the scoring, with Michel Morganella pouncing on a loose ball inside the Cagliari box to slot home. Five minutes later, Palmero doubled their lead when Ezequiel Munoz converted a cross from Achraf Lazaar.

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Cagliari's task was made harder after 26 minutes when Daniele Doveri picked up his second yellow card in the space of eight minutes.

Dybala was denied by a wonderful save from Simeone Colombi moments later, but the Cagliari stopper could not thwart Dybala after 33 minutes, with the striker converting from the penalty spot to leave the home side with a 3-0 lead.

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The home side should have made it four in the latter stages of the first period, but Franco Vasquez rattled the post from close range.

Both teams struggled for chances for long spells of the second half, but Palermo added further gloss to the scoreline after 73 minutes when Dybala netted his second of the match from inside the box, before Edgar Barreto made it 5-0 late on.

The result has moved Palermo into eighth, while Cagliari remain in the bottom three.