Cittadella thumped 3-0 by Cremonese, finishes season in 14th.

Cittadella ended their 2023/24 season in 14th place in Serie B following a 3-0 defeat against Cremonese on Friday night.

Cremonese striker Massimo Coda scored his 10th career goal against Cittadella to put the hosts in the lead, while Matteo Bianchetti and Dennis Johnsen got on the scoresheet for Giovanni Stroppa’s side in the 3-0 win.

The Granata had little to play for coming into the match following their elimination from playoff contention last week. Edoardo Gorini’s side finished a nightmare second half of the season which saw them win two out of 19 games, gaining only 13 points.

“We conceded the goals too easily, I’m sorry about this,” Gorini said after the match. “It’s sad to end a championship like this, but probably our mindset wasn’t the right one.”

Cremonese opened the scoring after 17 minutes following Coda’s penalty. The Grigiorossi doubled their lead nine minutes from halftime when Matteo Bianchetti’s header was too powerful for Cittadella goalkeeper Elhan Kastrati.

Cittadella forward Filippo Pittarello nearly got his third goal in three games after halftime as he struck the post. Following the attack, Cremonese put the ball into the net on the counter, but VAR overturned the goal due to a foul on Federico Giraudo.

Stroppa’s side slammed the door in the 88th minute after Norwegian forward Dennis Johnsen scored his second goal of his Cremonese career.

Friday saw two Cittadella debutants make their first professional appearance: defender Andrea Cecchetto was named to the starting eleven while Akim Djibril entered the pitch in the 73rd minute.

Cittadella ends the season in 14th place on 46 points. The Granata enjoyed a promising first half of the season where they claimed 33 points in 19 games. However, Gorini’s side could only manage two wins since the start of the new year, falling from 4th to 14th in the league.

“There’s certainly many regrets for how the season unfolded,” Gorini said. “Despite the eight defeats in a row, at a certain point we were still in the playoff zone. We weren’t good at following up on the first half of the season.”

Cremonese will continue their season as the Grigiorossi face either Catanzaro or Brescia in the semi-final round of the promotion playoffs. Cittadella’s season is over as they prepare for the offseason.

PHOTO: Giuseppe Zanardelli/LaPresse