Serie A | Lazio 3-2 Cremonese: Milinkovic snatches victory for second

Lazio had a blackout to allow Cremonese back from 2-0 down to 2-2, until Sergej Milinkovic-Savic completed his brace for the late 3-2 victory.

The Biancocelesti needed a win to recapture second place from Inter, with Danilo Cataldi injured and Adam Marusic undergoing surgery for a sports hernia this week. The visitors were already relegated, plus Cyriel Dessers, Vlad Chiriches and Marco Benassi on the treatment table.

There were emotional scenes before kick-off, as the squad came back together for the 10^th anniversary of their Coppa Italia triumph against Roma, plus Stefan Radu hung up his boots and was in tears as the crowd saluted his 15 years at the club.

It took just three minutes to break the deadlock, as Ciro Immobile’s through ball sent Elseid Hysaj on the run from deep, beating the goalkeeper from a tight angle.

Matias Vecino tested Mouhamadou Sarr from distance, while Frank Tsadjout only struck the side-netting on a Matteo Bianchetti pull-back from the by-line.

Alessio Romagnoli’s header was straight at Sarr on a corner and the goalkeeper parried a Luis Alberto snapshot, but Pedro flashed a ball across from the right for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to flick in from six yards.

A Pablo Galdames free kick was punched away, but he got a goal back for Cremonese with a powerful right-foot strike into the far top corner from outside the area.

Incredibly, relegated Cremonese clawed it back to 2-2 when Emanuele Valeri’s cross went past everyone, caught Lazzari unsighted and bounced off him into the net.

Sarr made a sensational double save on Felipe Anderson’s strike from the edge of the box and the Immobile follow-up, while Immobile fired over from two very promising situations where he should’ve done better.

Milinkovic-Savic thought he had scored with a header, but Ferrari managed an extraordinary acrobatic back-heel flick goal-line clearance.

It was end to end, as Provedel had to make the save on Tsadjout, but in the final minute Luis Alberto’s traditional in-swinging corner was cleared off the line by Vasquez only for Milinkovic-Savic to nod in from a yard.

There was a standing ovation for Stefan Radu, who is hanging up his boots, as he came on for stoppages and Immobile put the captain’s armband on the veteran. There was also still time for Maurizio Sarri to receive a red card for dissent.

Lazio 3-2 Cremonese

Hysaj 4 (L), Milinkovic-Savic 37, 89 (L), Galdames 54 (C), Lazzari og 57 (C)