CREMONA, ITALY - FEBRUARY 28: David Okereke of US Cremonese is brought down in the penalty area by Rui Patricio of AS Roma during the Serie A match between US Cremonese and AS Roma at Stadio Giovanni Zini on February 28, 2023 in Cremona. (Photo by Timothy Rogers/Getty Images)
David Okereke was pivotal for Cremonese as they saw off Jose Mourinho’s Roma 2-1, to grab their first league victory of the season to end an awful run of 30 games without a league win.
A Nigerian won a penalty for Cremonese, Jose Mourinho got an off the pitch Red card and they emerged victorious by a 2-1 scoreline.
Unlike in the Cup when the protagonist was Cyriel Dessers, it was David Okereke that took it upon himself to end his teams awful Serie A run.
He started on the left hand side of the front three and was a menace throughout the encounter.
Frank Tsadjout opened the scoring for Cremonese in the 17th minute against the run of play as Roma were the dominant of the two teams. They took the lead into the break and defended well in the restart.
However, their defensive resolve was broken when Gianluca Mancini’s cross found Leonardo Spinazzola in space and the full back rifled it into the net.
AS Roma pushed for a winner, but it backfired as a counter from Cremonese saw David Okereke draw an ugly tackle from Rui Patricio to win a penalty. Daniel Ciofani conveyed the penalty to win the tie for the hosts.
Cremonese will welcome the league win, as they ended a disastrous run in the league, albeit they had claimed victories against Napoli and Roma in the Copa Italia.