David Okereke scored his second Serie A goal this season as Cremonese secured a crucial 3-0 victory over Pisa on Sunday, keeping their survival hopes alive.
The Nigerian forward continued his decent run of form, scoring for the second time in six games. His goal sealed the win for Cremonese, who ended their five-game winless run.
The hosts came into the game four points behind 17th placed Leece. As such, victory was important to close the gap to just one point, ahead of the final two games of the season.
Their chances to claim a much-needed victory got even higher as Pisa were reduced to ten men 24 minutes into the game. Defender Rosen Bozhinov received two yellow cards in the space of eight minutes, leading to his early sending off.
More Read
Cremonese took advantage of the numerical superiority as veteran striker Jamie Vardy broke the deadlock. The 39-year-old scored in the 31st minute, making it 1-0.
Few minutes into the second half, the hosts extended their advantage as Federico Bonazzoli made it 2-0. Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when Felipe Loyola also received a straight red card, leaving them with nine men.
In the 72nd minute, Cremonese introduced David Okereke. The 28-year-old wasted no time in making an impact, scoring in the 86th minute to wrap up the victory.
The result marks Cremonese biggest win in the Serie A this season. It also means they are now just one point behind Leece with two games left to play.
Leece will play Sassuolo away and Genoa at home in their final two games. On the other hand, Cremonese face Udinese away and Como at home.
Cagliari, who sit 16th, are also not yet mathematically safe. But they are six points ahead of Cremonese. This means they would have to lose their final two games, while Cremonese win theirs, for them to drop into the relegation zone.
© Bold Sports Media. All rights reserved. If sharing, kindly credit Bold Sports as the source and include a link to the original post. Unauthorised use is prohibited.
