An easy choice in this case as far as the team of the round goes since Lazio romped Roma in the much-awaited Derby. The Biancocelesti came into the game looking to avenge their tough loss in the final minutes against Genoa in their last Serie A game two weeks ago, while they could not bend Milan’s defence in Coppa Italia on Tuesday. They did not play last week against Udinese due to a scheduling conflict at the Olimpico Stadium.
Simone Inzaghi could not field Ciro Immobile and Marco Parolo from the get-go due to last minute ailments, but was otherwise able to marshal all his other stars, including Luis Alberto. The Biancocelesti commenced to boss around right away and got the lead twelve minutes into the game, when Joaquin Correa escaped Federico Fazio’s guard, slipped it to Felipe Caicedo, who glided past Robin Olsen and tucked it home.
The Giallorossi never to overwhelm the enemies with their offensive play and, thanks to a spectacular showing by all three defenders, Bastos, Francesco Acerbi and Stefan Radu, the Eagles did not risk too much on open play either. Other than Nicolò Zaniolo, most of the opponents had an subpar performance, and the youngsters bowed out because of an injury with the game still in the balance. Thomas Strakosha answered the bell when La Lupa did manage to get some interesting shots off, denying Edin Dzeko and Stephan El Shaarawy and then in particular Alessandro Florenzi’s long-range effort, where he looked out of position but remedied by sticking his arm out with perfect timing.
Lazio managed to pull away after the Giallorossi could not bundle it home on a corner kick as Immobile, who subbed in, sprung Correa loose on open field and El Tucu was tackled in the box by Fazio. The Italian striker drilled the penalty, snapping out of a little drought and sending the fans into a frenzy. Danilo Cataldi rounded up the score at the 88th minute with a strike from outside the box that bent Robin Olsen’s hands.
Since they have played one fewer game, the Biancocelesti return within striking distance of the fourth spot as they are three points behind the cross-town rivals and six behind Inter. They amassed an impressive haul in the fantasy game considering the scale of the game: Strakosha led the way with seven points, followed by Adam Marusic, Bastos and Francesco Acerbi, who garnered five thanks to the clean sheet, and Danilo Cataldi; the goal scorers Caicedo and Immobile picked up four, like Correa because of the assist and Radu, who was booked. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic collected three because he assisted Catald, the other midfielders had two.
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