Nigeria international David Okereke scored on his Serie A debut while his compatriot Cyriel Dessers featured as Cremonese suffered a 3-2 defeat against Fiorentina on Sunday.
Playing in front of their own fans at Stadio Artemio Franchi, Fiorentina took the lead in the 16th minute through Giacomo Bonaventura but Okereke pulled a goal back in the 19th minute.
Fiorentina retook the lead in the 34th minute through Luka Jovic for a 2-1 lead at the half-time break. In the second period, Cremonese, who are making a return to the top-flight, suffered a blow after their midfielder Gonzalo Escalante was sent off.
Despite playing with a man down, Matteo Bianchetti put Cremonese level again but second-half substitute Rolando Mandragora ensured Fiorentina clinched maximum points from the game after notching the third in the stoppages.
Okereke moved to Cremonese this summer from Belgian outfit Club Brugge and he marked his debut with the opening goal after he finished off a low cross past Fiorentina goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini.
Another Nigerian player - Dessers - who moved to Cremonese a week ago from Genk, was handed a start by Italian manager Massimiliano Alvini and featured for the entire 90 minutes.
Meanwhile, Okereke, who was booked for a yellow card for tripping, was withdrawn in the 87th minute for Samuel Di Carmine.
Cremonese will next take on AS Roma at Stadio Olimpico on Monday.
