Cremonese 2–0 Sampdoria | Coppa Italia | 17 August 2026

Result Summary

Cremonese opened their Coppa Italia campaign with a commanding 2–0 victory over Sampdoria at home, with goals from David Gharabaghi Stückler in the 23rd minute and a late clincher from substitute Tommaso Berti deep into stoppage time. Marco Giampaolo's side were clinical when it mattered most, converting three shots on target into two goals while keeping Bernardo Corradi's Sampdoria firmly at bay throughout.

Match Analysis

Cremonese set the tone early, and the deadlock was broken midway through the first half when David Gharabaghi Stückler converted with a left-foot shot, assisted by Michele Collocolo — a well-worked move that rewarded the home side's organised approach. The goal gave Cremonese the platform to manage the game on their own terms.

The statistics paint an interesting picture of the second half's ebb and flow. Sampdoria held marginally more of the attacking initiative — recording 91 attacks to Cremonese's 76 — but were consistently undone by their own lack of precision. Five offsides disrupted their forward momentum, and they managed just one key pass across the entire match compared to Cremonese's five, a telling indicator of how ineffective their final ball proved to be. Despite generating four corners to Cremonese's two, Sampdoria could not convert their territorial moments into genuine danger.

A fractious spell mid-match added some heat to proceedings. Jari Vandeputte was booked in the 52nd minute for an argument, followed by a cluster of yellow cards around the 69th and 71st minutes involving Fabio Gerli and Giuseppe Pezzella for Cremonese, and Liam Henderson for Sampdoria — reflecting a tense but ultimately controlled phase of play.

Cremonese's substitutions proved astute. Tommaso Berti, introduced in the 62nd minute, sealed the tie in the 90th minute, finishing with a composed left-foot shot to make it 2–0 and put the result beyond any doubt. Manuel De Luca, Francesco Folino, Dachi Lordkipanidze, and Marco Nasti also came off the bench as Giampaolo rotated his options efficiently. Sampdoria's own late changes — bringing on Alex Ferrari, Lorenzo Paratici, Bjorn Meijer, and Gennaro Tutino — failed to alter the outcome, arriving too late to shift the momentum.

Possession was evenly split — 51% Cremonese vs 49% Sampdoria — and both sides completed passes at a high rate (91% and 90% respectively), suggesting the difference lay not in control, but in decision-making in the final third. Cremonese's seven total shots yielded three on target and two goals; Sampdoria's six shots produced three on target but no reward.

Prediction Review

Our pre-match forecast called a 1–0 Cremonese win, with a 44% probability assigned to a home victory and a confidence rating of 56/100. The directional call proved correct — Cremonese did win, and the clean sheet was anticipated — though the margin of 2–0 slightly exceeded our predicted scoreline. The low-confidence rating reflected genuine uncertainty, and Sampdoria's slightly higher attack volume during the match justified that caution.

Key Takeaways

• Cremonese were ruthlessly efficient, converting their limited but high-quality chances while denying Sampdoria any cutting edge.
• Collocolo's assist and Berti's late finish highlighted the squad depth Giampaolo can call upon from the bench.
• Sampdoria's five offsides and just one key pass underline the need for sharper attacking cohesion under Corradi.
• A disciplined home performance gives Cremonese strong momentum heading into the next round of the Coppa Italia.