Despite spending the week just two points clear of the relegation zone, Cagliari had the measure of league leaders Atalanta and prevented them from landing a single shot on target.
And while Cagliari were not particularly inventive either, Roberto Piccoli could have made it a dream start for the Islanders inside three minutes, but could only fire wide by a considerable margin from the edge of the box.
Meanwhile, Atalanta’s best chance came from Marco Brescianini, who saw a shot under pressure trickle wide in the 20th minute.
But any frustration from that would give way to gratitude late in the first half when a foray down the right flank saw Alessandro Deiola’s attempt to centre the ball blocked by what looked like the arm of Ben Godfrey - referee Luca Pairetto waved the Islanders’ appeals away.
Suitably riled, Cagliari then upped the pressure and a quickfire attack saw Marco Carnesecchi pull off a triple save, with the last instalment coming from a point-blank follow-up that had fallen to Nadir Zortea.
Gian Piero Gasperini made a triple change at the break but La Dea initially continued to fall short in the final third, with Ederson firing over from a fizzing low cross from the left by Matteo Ruggeri.
Atalanta were building pressure though, and finally struck after two more substitutes were deployed.
Barely two minutes after Nicolo Zaniolo came onto the pitch, he finished off an impressive team move that saw Lazar Samardzic switch to Raoul Bellanova, who then centred for the unmarked Galatasaray loanee to fire low beyond a helpless Alen Sherri.
Having now firmly clicked into gear, Atalanta came close to doubling their lead through Lookman’s solo run, which ended with a jink and shot that came back off the post.
Davide Nicola duly reacted with a brace of double substitutions, including Leonardo Pavoletti, who was making his 200th appearance for the Islanders. He couldn’t make the impact the hosts craved though, and with this result, unfavourable results elsewhere could see Cagliari sink into the bottom three.
As for Atalanta, they are now a provisional five points clear at the top of Serie A, having ended up on the right side of the 21st successive meeting with Cagliari to see a winner on the day.