Bonazzoli's audacity gives Cremonese first win at San Siro since 1925: Moment of the Weekend

"As an Inter fan, a goal against Milan counts double."

The first time Federico Bonazzoli had scored against AC Milan in the San Siro, it had been in the Coppa Italia Primavera, Italy's junior cup tournament, for Inter Milan Primavera. He'd been 16 at the time, a prodigy in every sense of the word.

When he made his senior debut for Inter that same season, after nine years in the academy, he was their second youngest ever player. A couple of years previously, he had become (at the time) the youngest ever to play for Italy's U-21 team, aged 14. A forward with a nose for goal, these records show just how highly rated he had been. An Inter fan blog wrote, in 2014: "In my opinion he's still the same Vieri-style striker that I attributed him to be a few years ago. He's got the audacity to try things - shooting from great range and trying to score great goals, as well as a clinical eye for goal."

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Over the next decade, Bonazzoli's career didn't pan out how this fan, and most others, had expected it to. Sent on loan early to lower table Serie A clubs and then to Serie B, that's where he has stayed, never scoring enough to catch the attention of the 'bigger' clubs. A 10 goal Serie A season for Salernitana was the best he did over the period (across both divisions). The clinical eye for goal that he'd been hailed for seemed to have wilted with time, Bonazzoli becoming one of those 'what-ifs' that float across the footballing-verse, hoping to rekindle the old flame one more time.

On the opening day of the 2024-25 season, Federico Bonazzoli did just that. You see, he may not have turned into a great goalscorer, but he still retained one innate quality -- that "audacity to try things", that constant need to keep "trying to score great goals".

He could not have imagined it would work out the way it did. Having joined Cremonese last season (while they were in Serie B), he was part of a team that squeezed their way to promotion after a tight win in the promotion playoff final against Spezia.

So, when they rocked up to the San Siro on opening day, the storylines were all about AC Milan: on how poor their summer transfer window had been, on new signing Luka Modric, and on the return of serial winner Massimiliano Allegri to the helm. How was Bonazzoli possibly going to take the headlines here?

Cremonese, though, hadn't come back to the first division -- just their ninth season in the 127-year history of Serie A -- to make up the numbers. Proof of that had been the appointment of miracle man Davide Nicola as head coach. Over the past decade, Nicola has specialized in doing the impossible, digging teams out of holes and keeping them in the league when no one thought it doable. He'd saved Crotone after taking over when they had got just 14 points in 29 games, Genoa after he became their third manager of the season in December, Torino the next season, Salernitana after taking over with them bottom and eight points off safety, Empoli after becoming their third manager of the season in February, and Cagliari last year.

Nicola, then, has mastered the art of making David hit Goliath's forehead, and on Saturday he decided not to wait too long to get Cremonese to do it. His stone of choice was Bonazzoli -- a player whose goals had helped him during that Salernitana miracle. Reunited in the top division, the manager-striker duo clicked instantly.

With a no-nonsense 5-3-2 system, Cremonese had opened the scoring early through charismatic centre-back Federico Baschirotto, but Strahinja Pavlovic had equalised for Milan late in the first half. In the second half, Milan had come out -- Allegri's words ringing in their ears -- and turned on the screws.

Look at these end-of-match stats, and you can see just how dominant Milan had been: 64% possession, 608 passes to 304, 9 corners to 2, an incredible 24 shots to 4... but it didn't matter.

Just past the hour mark, big (very, very big) Baschirotto made an unusual meandering run into the Milan third, before backheeling it to Giuseppe Pezzella. The left back took a touch, squared up his marker, and swung what looked a perfectly harmless ball into the penalty box... except Bonazzoli had already worked up an audacious attempt in his head. Realising the cross didn't have enough oomph for him to attempt a header from that far outside the six-yard-box, he waited. That pause saw a small gap open up in the crowded area, and that was enough.

Timing his leap, he went horizontal, right leg bent and splayed behind him, left leg ramrod straight and connecting perfectly with the cross. As it thumped into the bottom corner of the goal on the bounce, a diving Mike Maignan had no chance.

Gol vittoria da incorniciare per Federico Bonazzoli! ��️�� #MilanCremonese 1-2 pic.twitter.com/WTDknyjtwA

- Lega Serie A (@SerieA) August 24, 2025

Nearly twelve years after that goal against the junior Milan side, Federico Bonazzoli had scored at the San Siro again, a goal that was enough to give Cremonese to their first win at the great stadium since 1925. And so, for how special his finish was, for how improbable that result was, for never giving up on trying to score great goals, Bonazzoli takes our Moment of the Week.