Jamie Vardy scored the 150th top-flight goal of his career on Thursday night but Cremonese were unable to hold on to give him an early birthday present.
Vardy bundled his back-post shot underneath the Cagliari goalkeeper to give his side a 2-0 lead inside half-an-hour, the Leicester City icon having early set up the opener after he capitalised on slack defending.
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But Cremonese could not claim their first Serie A win in five matches, giving up their two-goal half-time advantage to draw 2-2, with Yael Trepy scoring Cagliari’s equaliser in the 88th minute.
It was Vardy’s fifth goal since moving to Italy and so takes him up to 150 in top-flight football.
It comes just days before his 39th birthday on Sunday, which he will spend preparing for Cremonese’s trip to Juventus on Monday night.
While Cremonese are winless in five, they remain well-placed at the halfway point of the campaign, sitting 13th in the table, nine points clear of the drop zone.
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“As a striker, the hope is to be able to have as much impact as possible, but what matters is the team result,” Vardy told his club, analysing Thursday’s game.
“There’s disappointment in the dressing room. We were ahead and we didn’t maintain it. Now we’ll look at what went wrong to see how we can improve.
“We still got an important point for our journey. Let’s continue with this spirit and move forward with positivity.”
There are only four players to have scored in Europe’s top five leagues this season who are older than Vardy – Luka Modric, James Milner, Olivier Giroud and Cristhian Stuani – and none have scored as many as the former City star.
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He said: “I think it’s a matter of experience and knowing how to manage my body. I know exactly what it takes to be ready for the game, and I take care of rest even when I’m at home. I think that’s the main thing. These are all aspects to take into account.
“If I didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t play anymore. It’s my passion, and that’s why I’m still on the pitch today.
“On a personal level, playing always helps, I feel good. I hope to continue like this for the rest of the season.
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“The standings are positive, but we can’t afford any lapses in concentration. We had a good first half of the season and we need to keep pushing. Fingers crossed and we’ll hope to get enough points to play in Serie A next year too.
“When you play football, the only (birthday) gift you want is three points. I’ll be in the hotel on Sunday, so I’ll rest and try to be ready for the match.”
His fifth goal of the season also draws him level with City’s top-scoring striker, with Jordan Ayew on five for the campaign. City’s leading scorer for the season so far is midfielder Jordan James on eight.
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