Lazio clinch late victory to push Cremonese nearer to relegation

Cremonese found it hard to produce much in the early action while Lazio wasted a vital opportunity with Oliver Provstgaard heading across the goalmouth from Mattia Zaccagnis lofted free kick during a dominant opening 20 minutes for the visitors.

Even so, despite finding it tough to get into the match, Cremonese got a lucky breakthrough shortly before the 30 minute mark. Federico Bonazzolis low effort from 20 yards looked like an easy save for Lazio keeper Edoardo Motta yet the young Italian international got it wrong and the ball slipped by him right at the end.

Encouraged by his eighth goal in the league this season Bonazzoli tried his luck with a bold overhead kick against Motta just prior to the interval leaving a disappointed Lazio trailing at the break.

The Roman outfit responded with more urgency after the interval when Alessio Romagnolis powerful header was stopped by Emil Audero at the 50 minute point.

This turned out to be a sign of intent from Maurizio Sarris team as Nuno Tavares charged forward from deep in his own territory disrupting Cremoneses backline. Tavares pass was flicked onwards by Tijjani Noslin allowing Gustav Isaksen to slot in a composed finish from near range to level the scores.

With victory in sight both Sarri and Marco Giampaolo introduced substitutes towards the end including a brief appearance by Jamie Vardy after his recent knock.

In the end though Lazio grabbed the winner deep into stoppage time when Noslin fired in from outside the area.

Cremonese stay rooted in 18th position four points from survival with just three fixtures left. Lazio climb to eighth ahead of consecutive meetings with Inter Milan. Sarris players will face the fresh title winners in Serie A on May 9 just four days prior to their Coppa Italia final showdown which they must triumph in to have any shot at European spots for 2026-27.