Serie A | Lazio 0-0 Cremonese: Stalemate at the Stadio Olimpico

Lazio and Cremonese failed to make the most of their scoring opportunities, so played out a goalless draw at the Stadio Olimpico with Federico Ceccherini sent off.

There were only two points separating these teams going into the weekend. Mattia Zaccagni and Toma Basic were suspended after the win over Parma when down to nine men, with Gustav Isaksen, Samuel Gigot and Nicolò Rovella injured, Boulaye Dia and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru at AFCON. Mario Gila returned from his ban, but Tijjani Noslin was struggling with flu symptoms, so Pedro got a rare start. Cremonese had Martin Payero suspended, Michele Collocolo out of action, and Matteo Bianchetti not fully fit, so Francesco Folino got his first Serie A start.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

Federico Bonazzoli pounced on a misplaced pass and sent the lob over an empty net from midfield in the opening minutes, while Taty Castellanos flicked his header on a free kick into the arms of Emil Audero.

Pedro’s daisy-cutter was deflected wide, from which Luca Pellegrini tried to curl in directly from the corner flag, testing Audero under the bar.

After the restart, Castellanos aimed a header from a corner straight at Audero, but Jamie Vardy really should’ve done better when nodding over at the back post from a Bonazzoli cross, having avoided the offside trap.

Noslin came off the bench and made an immediate impact, his angled drive flashing across the face of goal. Noslin then had penalty appeals rejected for a minor Filippo Terracciano shirt tug.

Dennis Johnsen’s strike was charged down and Bonazzoli aimed straight at Ivan Provedel on the follow-up, while Audero smothered an Adam Marusic low drive.

The finishing left a lot to be desire from both sides, Antonio Sanabria’s weak effort scuffed and Matteo Guendouzi testing Audero with a cross-shot at the near post.

There was chaos in stoppages, as Guendouzi went on the counter and sent Cancellieri clear on goal, who was brought down inches outside the area by Ceccherini for the red card. Danilo Cataldi’s free kick skimmed the top of the crossbar.

Sent off: Ceccherini 94 (C)