News Focus
- Jamie Vardy scores the only goal in a crucial 1-0 away win for Cremonese against Udinese.
- The result leaves Marco Giampaolo’s side just one point behind Lecce and safety with one match left to play.
- Lecce’s stoppage-time victory over Sassuolo means the relegation battle will be decided on the final weekend.
- VAR overturned a penalty awarded to Udinese after spotting an offside in the build-up.
- Cremonese goalkeeper Emil Audero made several vital saves to protect the narrow lead.
Jamie Vardy fired Cremonese to a vital away victory at Udinese. The striker’s goal keeps the club’s survival hopes alive until the final weekend of the Serie A season.
Marco Giampaolo’s team entered the match needing a positive result after closing the gap on Lecce to just one point last weekend. They were missing several key players including Federico Ceccherini and Warren Bondo. Udinese also had notable absences, with Nicolò Zaniolo and the suspended Kingsley Ehizibue unavailable.
The visitors took the lead thanks to a costly mistake from the home defence. Oumar Solet and Ehizibue’s replacement played weak passes at the back. Federico Bonazzoli intercepted the ball and tested goalkeeper Maduka Okoye. The keeper blocked the first effort, but Vardy followed up to score the rebound.
Udinese thought they had a chance to equalise from the penalty spot. The referee pointed to the spot after Sebastiano Luperto collided with Christian Kabasele. However, VAR checked the incident and overturned the decision because Thomas Kristensen was offside earlier in the move.
Youssef Maleh nearly doubled the lead when he forced a brilliant one-handed save from Okoye. Before the break, Keinan Davis also went close for Udinese with a header that went straight at Audero.
The second half saw several tense moments. Bonazzoli was fortunate to escape a red card after catching Kristensen with his studs. The referee showed only a yellow card because the player attempted to pull out of the challenge. Later, Udinese believed they had equalised through Adam Buksa, but the goal was disallowed after Idrissa Gueye fouled Audero as the keeper tried to collect a cross.
Hassane Kamara also avoided a sending-off after a VAR review changed his punishment from a red to a yellow card for a challenge on Vardy. Audero produced a remarkable reaction save to deny a Kristensen back-heel, though the assistant had already flagged for offside. In stoppage time, the Cremonese keeper made another crucial stop to palm away a curling shot from Solet.
The Cremonese players celebrated at the final whistle, but news arrived that Lecce had scored late to beat Sassuolo 3-2. This result leaves the survival fight open until the last day of the campaign.