Patrick Vieira was denied a winning start as Genoa manager after a late penalty gave fellow Serie A strugglers Cagliari a 2-2 away draw Sunday.

Roberto Piccoli lashed home his spot-kick two minutes from the end after being fouled by Aaron Martin, snatching a point for Cagliari with his team's second penalty of the game.

"My players delivered an good performance and focused on what we practised in training," said Vieira.

"I'm disappointed for them because I think they deserved to win today."

Vieira, who replaced sacked Alberto Gilardino on Wednesday, was heading for a debut win at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris after goals in each half from Morten Frendrup and Fabio Miretti which put Genoa ahead in the 59th minute following Razvan Marin's early penalty for the away team.

The draw leaves Genoa in 16th, level with Cagliari and two points above Lecce.