Cagliari is safe, Lecce reabsorbs Cremonese at 96'

The teams in the hunt for salvation in Serie A all win, extending by one more round the games to determine the third relegated team that will keep company with Pisa and Verona in the bitter journey to B. Cremonese in fact wins 1-0 in the away match at Udinese, Lecce suffers more in Reggio Emilia: the 3-2 win over Sassuolo comes with time largely over. Cagliari does its duty, which beating Torino in a comeback is now arithmetically certain to retain the category also in the next season.

The first team to put itself on the safe side is precisely Cremonese, which at 9′ decides the Udine away match with another heavy goal by Vardy. The experienced English striker took advantage in the best possible way of a mix-up between Solet and Kabasele to sprint in front of Okoye and beat him. Udinese’s reaction did not come, net of a potential penalty cancelled after the Var check, which in the second half also removed a direct red from Kamara. Instead, Cagliari trembled, but only for a few seconds: at 38′ Obrador put Torino ahead, with a shot from outside the box on Prati’s assist, but already at 39′ Gaetano gave Sebastiano Esposito the equalizing ball. Even before halftime, then, the Rossoblù turned the game around with Mina’s header in the first half’s recovery. In that of the second, a Var check made Unipol Domus hold its breath, but the penalty for the guests was not there.

The field where the excitement ensued for almost 100 minutes, however, was that of Reggio Emilia. Lecce is dreaming when at 14′ Cheddira scores on an erroneous clearance by Garcia. At 20′ Laurentié collected Pedro Felipe’s assist and equalized by surprising Falcone, but already at 25′ Cheddira completed the double with a splendid twist after an equally beautiful initiative by Banda. Sassuolo would equalize as early as the half-hour mark with Thorstvedt, but the Var cancels everything. Instead, it does so in the 82′ with a great heel on Garcia’s assist (after Nzola’s post and Thorstvedt’s crossbar). It all seemed to be over, but in 96′ Stulic gave the Salentini another week of hope by making the most of Gandelman’s bank and giving his side the victory.

Now Lecce is on 35 points, and on the last day it will receive Genoa. Cremonese is chasing at 34, but will close the season by hosting Como. Problems that no longer concern Cagliari, now serene at 40 and certain to play in Serie A again next year.

For Marco Giampaolo’s Cremonese, this is a result that has the resounding, considering that just a week ago the grigiorossi were -6 from Lecce with only two days to play. The path that brought the Lombardy team back to life had already begun in the previous round, with a clear 3-0 win over Pisa: that evening Vardy had returned to scoring after four months of fasting, dragging his teammates with a performance that made it clear that Cremonese had no intention of giving up. And in Udine, too, the English striker confirmed that he is the real man of providence for his team, with a goal that is worth its weight in gold.

Next Sunday’s challenge between Cremonese and Como, however, promises to be anything but easy for the grigiorossi: Fabregas’ Larians, fresh from their 1-0 win over Parma, are in the midst of the race for a Champions League spot and come to Cremona two points behind Milan and Roma paired in third place. For Como, therefore, three points are by no means an option, which makes the challenge even more complicated for Giampaolo’s team. On the other side, Lecce will host Daniele De Rossi’s Genoa, a formation that is already quiet in the standings with 41 points: the Salentini will hope that the Ligurians will show up without any particular motivation, although Di Francesco knows well that in soccer nothing is ever taken for granted.

In the meantime, at San Siro there was a celebration for Italian champion Inter, which ended its season with a 1-1 draw against already relegated Verona. An irrelevant result for the Nerazzurri, who celebrated the “doblete” in front of more than 75 thousand fans. Among the teams that on Monday morning will take a closer look at the Champions zone standings is also Como, opponent of Cremonese on the last day: the Larians are on 68 points, tied with Juventus and two lengths behind the fourth place occupied by Roma, in a season finale that promises sparks even at the top of the standings.