Giampaolo Faces Everest as Cremonese - Como Decides Serie A Fate

Cremonese - Como is set for 20.45 at the Stadio Giovanni Zini, and Giampaolo has described the task with a blunt line: "c’è da scalare l’Everest." Cremonese must win and hope Lecce do not beat Genoa to stay in Serie A.

Giampaolo at the Zini

This is the last match of the season at the Stadio Giovanni Zini, and the home side carries the burden of a table that leaves no room for error. If Cremonese win and Lecce also win, Cremonese finish third from bottom on 37 points and go down.

The margin for survival is just as tight if Lecce slip. A draw for Cremonese and a Lecce defeat would leave the two clubs level on 35 points, which could send the fight to a playoff.

Vardy and Lecce’s reply

Cremonese have already shown they can leave it late in the run-in. On the 37th matchday, they beat Udinese 1-0 through a 9th-minute tap-in from Jamie Vardy, while Lecce answered with a 1-0 win at Sassuolo on Stulic’s goal in the 96th minute.

That one-point swing left Cremonese still needing help as well as points. The sequence turned the final night into a split-screen problem: do the job against Como, then wait for Genoa to deny Lecce.

Como and the 2022 memory

Como arrive as the harder opponent on paper, with the article describing them as indiscutibilmente superiore and in the Champions League race. Genoa, by contrast, have no particular motivations at Lecce.

Cremonese supporters have one precedent to lean on. On 6 May 2022, Cremonese beat Como away with a double from Di Carmine on the final day of Serie B 2021/22, while Monza lost at Perugia. Pecchia was Cremonese’s coach then, with Stroppa at Monza, Alvini at Perugia and Gattuso in charge of Como.

That night delivered promotion pressure in a different division; tonight leaves Cremonese needing the same kind of precision in front of their own crowd. The home side cannot control Lecce’s result, but they can control the first part of the equation at 20.45.