The Eagle beats the Griffin. At the “Ferraris” Lazio achieved its second consecutive victory and did so with a goal from Luis Alberto, one of the most discussed men, who after the goal pointed to the biancoceleste crest on his chest.
The choices of the technicians
Some new formations for Alberto Gilardino who relies on Strootman in the middle of the field alongside Frendrup while on the sidelines Spence takes over Sabelli with Martin on the left. In defense in front of Martinez there is space for Vogliacco with De Winter and Vasquez while in attack there are Retegui and Ekuban with Gudmundsson acting between the attacking midfield and the new role of midfielder. Igor Tudor fields Felipe Anderson and Luis Anderson behind Castellanos in attack while Marusic and Lazzari are the wingers with Kamada and Vecino forming the midline. Patric, Casale and Gila play in defense to protect Mandas’ goal.
First half balanced
The first chance belongs to the home team with a shot by Ekuban that goes wide of the pitch. In the quarter of an hour a beautiful combination between Gudmundsson and Retegui leads the latter to shoot with the ball just missing over the crossbar. The response of the Capital team comes with a conclusion from Gila who collects a rebound from Vogliacco on Lazzari and shoots towards goal but the ball ends up to the left of Martinez. A few moments later it’s Felipe Anderson who tries to light up with a treacherous shot from distance that ends up wide. In the 43rd minute Casale ventures into a risky dribble on Retegui in midfield but extends the ball too far. The Grifone center forward recovers it and tries to overcome Mandas with a shot from very long range, only hitting the back of the net. On the turnaround in front, a pinball machine in the rossoblu area frees Castellanos on the left top of the six yard area but the attacker, instead of kicking, tries to follow a teammate who isn’t there. Before the double whistle Ekuban goes off on the counterattack together with Gudmundsson but the attacker doesn’t take advantage of the three against one in the area and instead of serving the Icelandic kicks towards goal, putting it on goal.
A “magic” of the Magician
The second half opens with the chants of the North Stand for Mr. Gilardino but with the first opportunity for Lazio thanks to Luis Alberto. The biancoceleste number 10 tries a magic by bringing the ball to the left side of the field, entering the area and opening the shot which is deflected for a corner. In the quarter of an hour De Winter slips bringing Felipe Anderson to the conclusion but Martin saves everything with a slide and puts it in the corner. Igor Tudor’s team establishes itself consistently in the opponent’s half of the field and in the 20th minute Romagnoli heads the ball into the area following a corner but the ball ends up at the end of the pitch. Sixty seconds later, the Biancocelesti broke the deadlock with Felipe Anderson fishing in the Kamada corridor. The midfielder reaches the bottom and passes Luis Alberto past Martinez. The rossoblu reaction was not long in coming and on the half hour Retegui tried with a long range shot blocked by Mandas.
