April 23, 2017: Lazio-Palermo 6-2
- Dag Jenkins
- 4 hours ago
- 9 min read
No contest
Too easy for Lazio with five goals in first twenty-five minutes against a depressed Palermo
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished 8th. The Biancocelesti had played 31 league games under Stefano Pioli and then the last 7 with Simone Inzaghi. They had reached the last 16 of Europa League (after failing to get through the CL preliminary round against Bayer Leverkusen) and the quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia.
This year Marcelo Bielsa had been chosen but "El Loco" lived up to his name and resigned after only a few days due to divergences over transfer market issues. At this point Simone Inzaghi was called back.
The main new signings were goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha (Salernitana- end of loan), defenders Bastos (Rostov), Jordan Lukaku (Oostende), Wallace (Braga), midfielder Luís Alberto (Liverpool) and striker Ciro Immobile (Seville).
Leaving were goalkeeper Etrit Berisha (Atalanta - on loan), defenders Edson Braafheid (end of contract), Santiago Gentiletti (Genoa), Abdoulay Konko (end of contract), Mauricio (Spartak Moscow - on loan), midfielders Antonio Candreva (Inter), Ogenyi "Eddy" Onazi (Trabzonspor), Stefano Mauri (end of contract) and striker Miroslav Klose (retired). So, a few difficult players to replace.
The season had started with a 4-3 away win at Atalanta followed by a 0-1 home defeat by Juventus and a 1-1 away draw at Chievo Verona. Since then, Lazio had won 17 (including Palermo 1-0), drawn 6 and lost 6 (including derby 0-2). Lazio were currently in 4th place, on 60 points. A week earlier the Biancocelesti had drawn 2-2 away to Genoa with an injury time Luís Alberto equaliser.
In Coppa Italia, Lazio had qualified for the final to be played on May 17 against Juventus. The Biancocelesti had eliminated Genoa 4-2 at home, Inter 2-1 away and then Roma 4-3 in a two-legged semi-final.
Palermo had finished 16th the previous season. The Rosanero had got through six different managers: Giuseppe Iachini (1-12 and 26-28), Davide Ballardini (13-19 and 33-38), Fabio Viviani (20), Giovanni Bosi (21 and 25), Giovanni Tedesco (22-24) and Walter Novellino (29-32), a chaotic state of affairs even for volcanic owner Maurizio Zamparini. They only stayed up by one point.
In the summer the Sicilian Eagles had signed: defender Haitam Aleesami (IFK Göteborg), midfielder Slobodan Rajković (Darmstadt), Bruno Henrique (Corinthians), Alessandro Diamanti (Atalanta), Alessandro Gazzi (Torino) plus forwards Roland Sallai (Puskás Akadémia - on loan), Carlos Embalo (Brescia - back from loan) and Ilija Nestorovski (Inter Zaprešić).
The main players leaving were: keeper Stefano Sorrentino (Chievo), defender Aljaž Struna (Carpi - on loan), Achraf Lazaar (Newcastle United), midfielders Enzo Maresca (Verona), Gaston Brugman (Pescara - end of loan) plus forwards Alberto Gilardino (Empoli), Franco Vazquez (Sevilla) and Uroš Durdević (Partizan Belgrade).
This season they had already had five managers. From Davide Ballardini to Roberto De Zerbi after 2 fixtures, to Eugenio Corini after 21, to Diego Lopez after 31 and now Diego Bortoluzzi since the previous game. The Rosanero had so far won 3, drawn 7 (including Inter 1-1 away) and lost 22. An awful season for the Sicilians who were 19th on 16 points and 10 from safety (Empoli on 26) with only 6 games to go. A desperate situation.
In the Coppa Italia Palermo had won their third-round match 1-0 against Bari in August but then in November lost to Spezia at home on penalties after a 0-0 draw.
Two different states of minds for the two opponents today. Lazio doing well and Palermo practically doomed. A match da "uno fisso" (home win) as they say in Italy.
The match: Sunday, April 23, 2017, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A warm and sunny day in Rome saw about 30,000 spectators present.
Lazio had no real injury problems while Palermo were without defenders Haitam Aleesami and Roberto Vitiello plus forward Carlos Embalo.
Lazio looked determined, Palermo did not. The Sicilians tactical set up was a 3-4-2-1 so not particularly defensive.
Lazio went in front almost immediately. In the 8th minute on a Lucas Biglia corner, Stefan de Vrij headed towards the far post where Ciro Immobile was perfectly positioned to nod in. Lazio 1 Palermo 0.
Two minutes later Ciro struck again. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic charged down the left, squared back to Ciro who ran in and surgically placed the ball in the far bottom corner, 2-0.
There was no reaction from the Sicilians so the Romans continued to party. Marco Parolo went close but his shot was cleared off the line by Sunjic. In the 21st minute de Vrij set up Keita Balde who dribbled past Sunjic and Gonzalez and put the ball in the left corner, 3-0.
Keita was the protagonist again three minutes later. In the 24th minute he was fouled by Michel Morganella for a penalty. The Senegalese took it himself, the ball went under Josip Posavec who got a touch too but 4-0.
In the 25th minute Palermo changed set up and passed to a more prudent 3-5-2, with midfielder Bruno Henrique coming on for forward Roland Sallai.
The goals kept coming and two minutes later Keita got his hat-trick. In the 26th minute Biglia to Immobile who brilliantly backheeled to Keita who chipped the keeper coming out, 5-0.
For the statistic lovers this was the first time a team had scored five goals in the first 26 minutes since 1938 (Juventus-Fiorentina 5-0). It was also 20 years since Lazio had scored five goals in the first half (Reggiana at home in 1997).
The game then became more of a training exercise and Lazio took their foot off the accelerator. Half time came with Lazio cruising, 5-0.
For the second half Lazio took off Parolo who was one yellow card away from suspension and the next game was the derby. Jordan Lukaku came on in his place.
In the 46th minute, with Lazio's Dutch defenders still mentally in the changing rooms, Palermo scored. A De Vrij mistake let Andrea Rispoli through to beat Thomas Strakosha, 5-1.
Six minutes later it happened again. This time it was Wesley Hoedt who messed up a pass back to Strakosha and Rispoli took advantage to make it 5-2.
The beginning of an epic comeback? No, from then on Lazio controlled possession well and did not run any further risks.
Milinkovic-Savic forced Posavec into a dive to his left to keep a curling freekick out and Keita almost got his fourth but his low cross goal effort shaved the post.
Both sides made two substitutions; Lazio put on Luca Crecco for Milinkovic-Savic in the 70th minute and Cristiano Lombardi for Keita in the 83rd while the Rosanero visitors replaced Mato Jajalo with Ivaylo Chochev in the 66th and Simone Lo Faso with Aleksandar Trajkovski in the 74th.
The game seemed to be petering out without any further excitement until injury time when Crecco got his first Serie A goal. In the 91st minute the Roman midfielder scored with a tap-in after Posavec had parried a Senad Lulic header. Final score Lazio 6 Palermo 2.
Too easy for Lazio and who knows how many they could have scored if they had continued pushing. Palermo played like a team who had already accepted their fate and only scored courtesy of Lazio's lapse in concentration. This was perhaps understandable when you find yourself five nil up after 26 minutes in a Serie A game…
Lazio consolidated their 4th place. Milan had surprisingly been beaten 1-2 at home by Empoli and fell to -6 and Inter lost 4-5 in Florence and were at -8. Atalanta however resisted, beating Bologna 3-2 at home and were still at -1 in 5th place. Only three went in Champions League anyway so the race was for Europa League and Lazio were well positioned.
Palermo were not officially down but only a miracle of Santa Rosalia could save them now. The Palermitani were now 13 points from survival with 5 games remaining...
Who played for Lazio
Strakosha, Wallace, de Vrij, Hoedt, F. Anderson, Parolo (46' Lukaku), Biglia, Milinkovic-Savic (70' Crecco), Lulic, Immobile, Keita (83' Lombardi)
Substitutes: Vargic, Adamonis, Patric, Basta, Bastos, Cardoselli, Luís Alberto, Djordjevic, Javorcic
Manager: S. Inzaghi
Who played for Palermo
Posavec, Sunjic, Gonzalez, Goldaniga, Rispoli, Gazzi, Jajalo (66' Chochev), Morganella, Sallai (25' B.Henrique), Lo Faso (74' Trajkovski), Nestorovski
Substitutes: Fulignati, Marson, Andelkovic, Cionek, Balogh, Diamanti
Manager: Bortoluzzi
Referee: Fabbri
Goals: 8' Immobile, 10' Immobile, 21' Keita, 24' Keita (pen), 26' Keita, 46' Rispoli, 52' Rispoli, 90+1 Crecco
What happened next
Lazio had a decent season but finished 5th on 70 points and qualified for the Europa League. After today's game they won 2 (including Sampdoria 7-3) and lost 3. In the end the Biancocelesti won 21, drew 7 and lost 10. One of the last two wins came a week later and was the highlight of the season when Lazio defeated Roma 3-1 despite a scandalous penalty for the Giallorossi (the famous Strootman theatrical simulation). Top scorer was Ciro Immobile with 26 goals (23 in A).
In the Coppa Italia final, Lazio were defeated 0-2 by Juventus.
Palermo were relegated in 19th place on 26 points. In the last 5 games they had a surge of pride and won 3, drew 1 and lost 1.
The Scudetto was won by Juventus for the 33rd time and 6th consecutive. The Bianconeri therefore won the double. The three teams sadly waving goodbye with Palermo were Empoli and Pescara (the Palermitani and Pescaresi have not been back since).
Let’s talk about: Marius Adamonis
Marius Adamonis was born in Panevėžys, Lithuania on May 13, 1997.
He spent his youth with local club Panevėžio FA. In 2015 he joined Atlantas (Klaipėda-Lithuania) in the top flight and played 8 games. In 2016 he had a brief spell on loan with Bournemouth in the Premier League but with no appearances.
In the summer of 2016 he joined Lazio. The manager was Simone Inzaghi and Adamonis was 3rd keeper behind Thomas Strakosha and Ivan Vargić. He made no appearances and Lazio finished 5th (EL) and were runners up in the Coppa Italia.
In 2017-18 he spent a year on loan at Salernitana in Serie B. The manager was first Alberto Bollini (former Lazio U19s coach) and then Stefano Colantuono. The Granata finished 12th and Adamonis played 7 league games. The main keeper was Boris Radunović.
In 2018-19 he was loaned to Casertana in Serie C and played more regularly. The managers were: Gaetano Fontana, Nello Di Costanzo and then Sandro Pochesci and the Rossoblu finished 9th. Adamonis played 24 league games.
In 2019-20 he spent a season on loan at Catanzaro in Serie C. The managers were Gaetano Auteri, Gianluca Grassadonia and then Auteri again. Adamonis made no appearances and in January left. The Giallorossi finished 7th. The main keeper was Raffaele Di Gennaro.
In January 2020 he was sent out on loan again, this time to Sicila Leonzio (Lentini-Sicily) in Serie C. He played 10 league games and the Sicilians finished 17th and then avoided relegation through the playouts. His managers were Vito Grieco, Giovanni Bucaro and then Grieco again.
In 2020-21 he went back to Salernitana on loan. The Campani were in Serie B and won promotion under Fabrizio Castori. Adamonis played 3 league games. The first keeper was Vid Belec.
After a couple of years of inactivity in 2023-24 he was loaned to Perugia where he was finally first choice keeper. The Umbri were in Serie C and finished 4th. Adamonis played 36 league games, first under Francesco Baldini and then Alessandro Formisano.
His contract with Lazio then ended and, in the summer of 2024, he was sold to Catania. The Elefanti were in Serie C and the manager was Domenico Toscano. Adamonis made ten appearances and was then loaned to Südtirol (Bolzano) in Serie B in January with an obligation to make the transfer permanent if Südtirol avoid relegation. He has so far played 11 games.
Adamonis has represented his country Lithuania at various age group levels, U17s (8 games), U18s (5 games), U19s (6 games) and U21s (4 games).
Adamonis is an imposing goalkeeper at 1.93 metres. His career has been spent in the 3rd tier of Italian football and has so far only really played regularly at Casertana and Perugia.
He was owned by Lazio for seven years but was only with the club for one. He was constantly loaned out as he was obviously not reckoned to be Lazio material.
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