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LECCE, ITALY – MARCH 08: Santiago Pierotti US Lecce celebrates after scoring his team’s opening goal during the Serie A match between US Lecce and US Cremonese at Stadio Via del Mare on March 08, 2026 in Lecce, Italy. (Photo by Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images)
Lecce secured a massive 2-1 win over Cremonese on Sunday, moving three points above the relegation zone.
Santiago Pierotti and Nikola Stulic’s goals allowed Lecce to take all three points in a home Serie A match against direct rivals Cremonese on Sunday, putting three points between them and the Grigiorossi in the Serie A table.
Goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone also had a big role in Lecce’s crucial victory.
Lecce 2-1 Cremonese match report
Cremonese’s Morten Thorsby had the first chance in the game, but sent his header wide.
Just a few minutes later, Pierotti scored his first goal this season, making the most of Antonino Gallo’s corner kick from the right and Emil Audero’s poor decision to come out.
The home side didn’t take long to double their lead. Matteo Bianchetti deflected Stulic’s shot with his right arm, which was placed in an unnatural position. Referee Simone Sozza initially gave a corner kick, but was then urged to the pitchside monitor to review the incident, which led to a penalty kick for the Giallorossi.
Stulic took the penalty and sent Audero the opposite way to double Lecce’s lead.
The Giallorossi dominated in the first half, leaving little chance to score for Cremonese, who also had to deal with an injury to Jamie Vardy, who picked up a knock and was forced to be subbed off during the break.
It was, however, a blessing in disguise for the Lombardy-based club as Vardy’s replacement, Milan Djuric, immediately contributed to Cremonese’s goal.
The ex-Salernitana star used his body to take position at the edge of the box and provide a headed assist for Bonazzoli, who made a late run and beat Falcone at the far post with his first goal since the reverse fixture on December 7.
Djuric continued to make his presence felt inside the box and had a chance to score with an overhead kick saved by Wladimiro Falcone.
Spaces opened up for Lecce on the counterattack, and despite Lameck Banda’s pace down the left, the Giallorossi failed to create many goal-scoring opportunities.
On the other end, Cremonese mostly relied on long balls for Djuric to cause trouble for the home side.
Emil Audero partially redeemed himself with a save from Ylber Ramadani’s shot from distance.
Cremonese midfielder Martin Payero accidentally sent the ball inside the net with his right arm in the dying minutes. The referee initially confirmed the goal, but a silent VAR check quickly, and rightly, disallowed it.
Payero had another massive chance to level the score in stoppage time, but Falcone produced an impressive intervention from point-blank range.
Tension skyrocketed in the final minute as Cremonese demanded a penalty kick for a possible Gaby Jean foul on Antonio Sanabria, who was clear in front of Falcone after another header won by Djuric and a fortunate bounce at the edge of the box.
Referee Sozza, however, waved to play on, and VAR confirmed his decision, sparking Lecce’s celebrations.
08-03-2026 11:30
MatchDay 28
Stadio Ettore Giardiniero – Via del MareLECUSC2 – 1
Player statistic
| Santiago Pierotti(Assist: Antonino Gallo) | 22' |
| Nikola Stulic | 38' |
| 44' | Matteo Bianchetti |
| Jamil Siebert | 45+4' |
| 47' | Federico Bonazzoli(Assist: Milan Djuric) |
| 53' | Milan Djuric |
| 90+7' | Sebastiano Luperto |
Match statistic
41
Possession %
59
9
Total shots
10
3
Shots on target
5
3
Shots off target
3
3
Blocked shots
2
4
Corners
4
3
Offsides
1
19
Fouls
28
LEC
USC
Starting lineups
30
Wladimiro Falcone
Goalkeeper
25
Antonino Gallo
Defender
17
Danilo Veiga
Defender
5
Jamil Siebert
Defender
44
Tiago Gabriel
Defender
29
Lassana Coulibaly
Midfielder
89′
79
Oumar Ngom
Midfielder
20
Ylber Ramadani
Midfielder
19
Lameck Banda
Attacker
78′
9
Nikola Stulic
Attacker
66′
50
Santiago Pierotti
Attacker
79′
1
Emil Audero
Goalkeeper
55
Francesco Folino
Defender
3
Giuseppe Pezzella
Defender
74′
15
Matteo Bianchetti
Defender
46′
5
Sebastiano Luperto
Defender
4
Tommaso Barbieri
Defender
27
Jari Vandeputte
Midfielder
46′
2
Morten Thorsby
Midfielder
62′
29
Youssef Maleh
Midfielder
90
Federico Bonazzoli
Attacker
10
Jamie Vardy
Attacker
46′
Substitutes
23
Riccardo Sottil
Attacker
14
Thórir Jóhann Helgason
Midfielder
32
Jasper Samooja
Goalkeeper
1
Christian Früchtl
Goalkeeper
36
Filip Marchwinski
Midfielder
11
Konan N’Dri
Attacker
13
Matías Pérez
Defender
3
Corrie Ndaba
Defender
6
Álex Sala
Midfielder
99
Walid Cheddira
Attacker
66′
16
Omri Gandelman
Midfielder
78′
18
Gaby Jean
Defender
79′
8
Sadik Fofana
Defender
89′
69
Lapo Nava
Goalkeeper
16
Marco Silvestri
Goalkeeper
33
Alberto Grassi
Midfielder
23
Federico Ceccherini
Defender
38
Warren Bondo
Midfielder
22
Romano Floriani Mussolini
Defender
30
Mika Faye
Defender
9
Milan Djuric
Attacker
46′
7
Alessio Zerbin
Attacker
46′
32
Martín Payero
Midfielder
46′
77
David Okereke
Attacker
62′
99
Antonio Sanabria
Attacker
74′
ByLorenzo Bettoni
Lorenzo Bettoni is the Editor of Football Italia.
