Lazio mounted a superb comeback to secure a 1-2 victory at Cremonese, with Tijjani Noslin – introduced at half-time – bagging the decisive goal in the 90th minute. The winner completed a turnaround that had been building since the opening exchanges of the second half.
The match pivoted on an intense period of Lazio activity either side of the interval. Cremonese forward Federico Bonazzoli had given the hosts the lead on 29 minutes, converting after a precise delivery from Romano Floriani Mussolini to make it 1-0. It was the kind of goal Giampaolo's side desperately needed: a moment of quality in a run that had yielded just one point from their previous three league outings. That lead held through a first half in which Lazio midfielder Oliver Provstgaard collected a yellow card on 40 minutes, a clear sign of the pressure the visitors were applying without yet finding a way through.
Sarri's response at the break was immediate and impactful. Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri made a double substitution, withdrawing Daniel Maldini and Patric simultaneously for Noslin and Nicolò Rovella before the second half had even begun. The changes paid dividends within eight minutes; on 53 minutes, Noslin turned provider, laying on the decisive pass for Lazio winger Gustav Isaksen to draw his side level at 1-1. The equaliser arrived with Cremonese still reorganising – Giampaolo responded with a triple substitution of his own eight minutes later, bringing on Warren Bondo, Jamie Vardy, and Martín Payero. With both benches having rung the changes, the game was now open, and the contest drifted towards what looked like an inevitable draw.
Noslin settled it. With Lazio substitute Boulaye Dia – introduced in the 81st minute – providing the final ball, Noslin converted in the 90th minute to make it 2-1. It was his second decisive contribution of the afternoon: first the assist for Isaksen's leveller, then the winner himself. Sarri had brought him on when the match against Cremonese still looked lost; Noslin left it won.
Cremonese's struggles were structural as much as tactical. Baschirotto was forced off as early as the 21st minute – before Bonazzoli had even scored – and the subsequent shape of the backline was never fully tested in the first half in the way it would be after the break. When Lazio's double substitution at half-time reconfigured the visitors' attacking options, Cremonese's reactive pattern saw them needing three simultaneous changes of their own, reflecting a side managing rather than controlling the flow of the game. Their last five matches have brought just one point, with two goals scored and nine conceded; the last three have been marginally less severe but follow the same worrying trend. Bonazzoli's opener was a moment of genuine quality, but it arrived against a Lazio side that had beaten Napoli away from home in April and carried significant momentum into this fixture.
That form context matters significantly. Lazio arrived at Cremonese with momentum, and even a home draw against Udinese the week prior had not disrupted their rhythm. The visitors absorbed the early setback of going behind and responded with the kind of half-time restructuring that suggests a coaching staff with a clear second-half plan. Cremonese, by contrast, have now taken just one point from their last five matches, with their only goal in the last three coming from the penalty spot — no, from open play through Bonazzoli today, which makes it the sole bright moment in an otherwise bleak recent run.
Noslin's 90th-minute goal is the detail that will define this fixture: a substitute, on for less than fifty minutes, who both created and scored in a match Lazio had no business winning at the interval.