Jamie Vardy made a timely comeback from injury to help his new manager to a debut victory and lift Cremonese out of Serie A’s bottom three.
The Leicester City icon missed Cremonese’s previous fixture with a dead leg, and it proved to be a pivotal game.
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The 4-1 loss to relegation rivals Fiorentina extended Cremonese’s winless streak to 15 matches, saw them drop into the bottom three for the first time, and cost manager Davide Nicola his job.
But Vardy made his comeback against Parma at the weekend, and played a key role in their 2-0 win as new boss Marco Giampaolo got off to a perfect start.
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With Cremonese 1-0 up, Vardy came on with just over 20 minutes to play and immediately set up the second with a fine, first-time left-footed pass into the path of Jari Vandeputte on the breakaway.
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The result saw Cremonese jump out of the bottom three, above Giampaolo’s old team Lecce, but only on goals scored.
Vardy wrote on social media after the game: “We needed that. Great performance from the team today, let’s build from this!”
Reacting to his debut win, Giampaolo said: “Well done to the lads, because we only trained a few things. We didn’t have much time.
“It took spirit, dedication to the shirt, and a reaction beyond the tactical aspects. And the team had all of this. We needed an emotional reaction like this.”
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There are eight games left for Cremonese to secure their survival, with a home clash against mid-table Bologna next up after the international break.
Vardy is on a year’s contract at the club, expiring this summer, but with the option for a further year.