Jamie Vardy’s decisive strike secured a critical away win for Cremonese against Udinese, significantly boosting their chances of avoiding relegation. The victory means their Serie A survival will be decided in the final match of the season.
Following their previous win against Pisa, Marco Giampaolo’s side entered the penultimate round just one point behind Lecce and safety. Cremonese faced several absences, including Federico Ceccherini, Warren Bondo, Faris Moumbagna, and Federico Baschirotto. Udinese were also hampered by the absence of Nicolò Zaniolo, Jurgen Ekkelenkamp, Alessandro Zanoli, and the suspended Kingsley Ehizibue.
Cremonese capitalized on defensive errors from Udinese during their build-up play. Oumar Solet and Kingsley Ehizibue’s loose passing was intercepted by Federico Bonazzoli, whose shot tested goalkeeper Maduka Okoye. However, Okoye was unable to prevent Jamie Vardy from scoring on the rebound, giving Cremonese the lead.
Youssef Maleh created further danger, with his cross just evading a teammate and then forcing a difficult save from Okoye with a shot of his own.
Udinese were initially awarded a penalty when Sebastiano Luperto was judged to have bundled into Christian Kabasele. However, the decision was overturned by VAR due to an earlier offside infringement by Thomas Kristensen.
Luperto later tested Okoye with a shot, while a Keinan Davis header from a Hassane Kamara cross went directly at goalkeeper Emil Audero.
Early in the second half, Bonazzoli narrowly avoided a red card for a studs-up challenge on Kristensen, but was spared due to a last-minute attempt to pull out of the tackle.
Audero made a remarkable reaction save to deny Kristensen’s back-heel flick, though the goal would have been disallowed for offside anyway.
As the match progressed, Cremonese adopted a more defensive approach to protect their narrow lead. Udinese thought Hassane Kamara had been sent off for a foul on Vardy in his own half, but VAR reviewed the incident, and the referee downgraded the card to yellow, noting both players were contesting the bouncing ball.
Udinese found the net in the 86th minute through Adam Buksa, but the goal was disallowed due to a foul by Idrissa Gueye on goalkeeper Audero, who dropped the ball prior to the strike.
Audero’s first significant save came in stoppage time, when he produced a flying stop to palm away Oumar Solet’s curling effort destined for the top corner.
While Cremonese celebrated their victory at the final whistle, news emerged that Lecce had scored a late winner against Sassuolo, meaning the relegation battle remains wide open heading into the final day.
Udinese 0-1 Cremonese
Vardy 9′ (C)
Match Statistics
Possession: Udinese 63% – Cremonese 37%
Total Shots: Udinese 10 – Cremonese 7
Shots on Target: Udinese 2 – Cremonese 4
Shots off Target: Udinese 6 – Cremonese 2
Blocked Shots: Udinese 2 – Cremonese 1
Corners: Udinese 5 – Cremonese 5
Offsides: Udinese 4 – Cremonese 5
Fouls: Udinese 10 – Cremonese 9
Lineups
Udinese Starting XI: Okoye, Kabasele, Kamara, Arizala, Solet, Kristensen, Atta, Karlström, Miller, Buksa, Davis
Cremonese Starting XI: Audero, Pezzella, Bianchetti, Luperto, Barbieri, Terracciano, Thorsby, Maleh, Bonazzoli, Vardy
Substitutions:
Udinese: Kabasele replaced by Bertola (46′), Arizala by Zemura (60′), Miller by Bayo (71′), Davis by Djuric (71′), Kamara by Camara (79′).
Cremonese: Barbieri replaced by Okereke (60′), Bonazzoli by Mussolini (60′), Thorsby by Collocolo (82′), Maleh by Vandeputte (82′), Vardy by Gessat (88′).
