Romano Floriani Mussolini, the great-grandson of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, came off the bench to help Cremonese defeat Sassuolo 3-2 in his Serie A debut on Friday.

Introduced with eight minutes remaining, 22-year-old Floriani Mussolini earned the penalty from which Manuel de Luca struck the winner for the newly promoted side, who went top of the Serie A table with two wins in two matches.

The right-back, on loan from Lazio, was an unused substitute in Cremonese’s 2-1 win at AC Milan in their Serie A opener last week.

“Too many things happened in too little time, I don’t think I’ll ever forget the night because I’ve always dreamed of making my debut in Serie A,” said Floriani Mussolini.

“My goal was to make a difference and I’m happy that I managed to do that.”

Floriani Mussolini wears the number 22 shirt at Cremonese and has the name ‘Romano’ on the back of his jersey.

He came through the ranks at Lazio but never made an appearance in the Italian top flight for the Biancocelesti.

He was sent out on loan to third-division side Pescara in 2023-24 and Juve Stabia in the second division during the 2024-25 season.

After his winner against Cesena last December, some reports claimed Juve Stabia supporters celebrated the goal with fascist salutes – a claim the club firmly rejected.

When joining Cremonese in the summer, Floriani Mussolini said he was “here to play football”, adding: “My surname bothers other people more than me.”

Benito Mussolini founded the National Fascist Party in Italy and led the country from 1922 until he was overthrown in 1943. He allied with Adolf Hitler in the Second World War, and was captured and killed in 1945.