Jamie Vardy celebrates scoring for Cremonese against Juventus(Image: Image Photo Agency/Getty Images)

Jamie Vardy showed his “champion” qualities to score against Juventus and nearly ruin Luciano Spalletti’s debut.

Vardy netted his second goal in Serie A for new club Cremonese on Saturday evening, winning a tussle with Federico Gatti, racing through and finishing into the bottom corner.

The goal came with seven minutes to go and set up a tense finale against Juve, who eventually held out for a 2-1 win.

Former Italy manager Spalletti was in charge of Juve for the first time and did not hide his praise for Vardy after the game.

It’s not the first time he’s had to be wary of Vardy’s qualities, with Spalletti in the dugout for Napoli during Leicester City’s Europa League group fixtures against the Italian side in 21-22.

“They really only have one striker, because Vardy is their main threat,” Spalletti said after Saturday’s game.

“We lacked a bit of shielding in front of Gatti, and that left Vardy alone. He’s scored against everyone. He's won championships. He's one of those strikers.

Continue Reading: Vardy 'proves he's a champion' as Leicester legend nearly ruins manager's debut