Match report
Cremonese fight back from two down to draw with Cesena
Cesena were held 2-2 by Cremonese in a Serie B round four fixture at the Stadio Dino Manuzzi, having led by two goals before the visitors staged a late recovery. Cristian Shpendi's brace either side of half-time appeared to have settled the contest before Cremonese struck twice in the closing stages to snatch a point.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
Shpendi opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, converting from Dimitri Bisoli's assist to give Cesena a lead they held into the interval. The forward doubled his tally from the penalty spot in the 59th minute, putting the hosts firmly in control at 2-0 with just over half an hour remaining.
Cremonese responded through Michele Collocolo, who pulled a goal back in the 75th minute after being set up by Federico Bonazzoli. Five minutes later Bonazzoli turned provider into scorer, finishing off an assist from Sebastiano Luperto to complete the turnaround and level the score at 2-2, which is how it finished.
Despite conceding possession and territory for long spells, Cesena had the better of the underlying numbers going the other way, with Cremonese dominating the ball but needing their late strikes to salvage a draw against a side sitting higher in the table.
Bonazzoli both scored and set up a goal in the space of five second-half minutes, driving Cremonese's comeback and earning the highest rating of the match at 8.47. Shpendi, with two goals of his own, was not far behind for Cesena.
Cremonese saw far more of the ball, finishing with 60% possession despite trailing for most of the match.
Cesena and Cremonese drew 2–2 (half-time 1–0).
Cesena met Cremonese in the Serie B (Regular Season - 4). Kick-off was Saturday, 12 September 2026, 17:30 UTC at Stadio Dino Manuzzi.
Key moments
- 22' Goal: Cristian Shpendi (assist: Dimitri Bisoli) — 1–0
- 59' Goal (penalty): Cristian Shpendi — 2–0
- 75' Goal: Michele Collocolo (assist: Federico Bonazzoli) — 2–1
- 80' Goal: Federico Bonazzoli (assist: Sebastiano Luperto) — 2–2
Starting line-ups
Cesena (4-2-3-1)
Cremonese (4-2-3-1)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Cesena 18%, the draw 35%, Cremonese 47%. It finished Cesena 2–2 Cremonese.
Cremonese's rating gap, but the draw is in play — Cremonese are clearly the stronger side on our strength rating, and a weak Serie B home advantage plus the early-season home fade on top give Cremonese the lean. The draw at 35% is helped by a draw-heavy league.
Why Cremonese at 47%?
Cremonese sit 233 points higher on our strength rating — 1389 to 1622. Sides with a 200–300-point rating edge on the road won 52.0% of 6,078 such games. Serie B home sides under-perform the global norm — and the difference mostly flows to draws (32.2% vs 24.9% norm) and away wins (26.1% vs 30.2%). Serie B homes won 41.7% of 4,045 games vs 44.9% across all 100,077 — outside the noise band, so the tally moves accordingly. Both sides are inside their first six league games — home wins land softer this early in the season, so this trims Cesena's column. Across 11,058 opening-stretch games since 2010, home sides won 42.7% where the rating map expected 44.9%, with draws up 2.0 — negative in every season since 2018. The 300 most similar past games finished 26–26–48.
Why only 47%?
No scored evidence points the other way. 47% is what this rating gap has been worth in games like these; the rest is the draw at 35% and Cesena at 18%.
Why is the draw second, ahead of the Cesena win?
With a rating gap this size the draw starts at 24.0%. These teams' recent games average 2.5 goals — a typical goals environment. Games in that environment drew 26.2% of 27,797. Serie B runs draw-heavy, adding 7.3 points. Early-season fixtures add 2.0 points to the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
Cremonese have played 3+ games in the last two weeks; their opponents haven't. Between equals, congested home sides won 46.9% of 2438 measured games and congested visitors 28.3% of 2488 — the cells disagree with each other and with the flat rest table, so schedule stays a watch item at 0 points.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Cesena vs Cremonese final score and result, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this Serie B fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
The full match report above covers the goals, key moments and stats. Explore more on the Cesena and Cremonese team pages or the Serie B page.
Quick answers
›What was the final score of Cesena vs Cremonese?
Cesena and Cremonese drew 2–2 (half-time 1–0).
›Who scored in Cesena vs Cremonese?
Cristian Shpendi (22') for Cesena; Cristian Shpendi (59') (penalty) for Cesena; Michele Collocolo (75') for Cremonese; Federico Bonazzoli (80') for Cremonese.
›Where can I watch Cesena vs Cremonese highlights?
This page carries the full match report, stats and lineups for Cesena vs Cremonese; goal clips are added as soon as official highlights are available.
›What is the head-to-head record between Cesena and Cremonese?
Cesena and Cremonese have met 4 times — 2 wins for Cesena, 2 wins for Cremonese and 0 draws.