Lazio wins in dramatic fashion
Marvellous comeback from Lazio. Down to 10 men from the early minutes of the game and losing 1-0, the Biancocelesti managed to overturn the result thanks to yet another goal from Immobile and a Bologna own goal prompted by Lazzari.
Also on this day: August 14, 2007: Lazio Dinamo București 1-1 Champions League Third Qualifying Round. Lazio manage to draw a chaotic game and give themselves a chance to reach the Champions League Group stage. Player of the day: Luciano Zauri
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had changed manager, from Simone Inzaghi to Maurizio Sarri, and had had difficulties in adapting to a new style of play, from 3-5-2 to 4-3-3. The problems were particularly in defence but in the second half of the season there was an improvement in set up and Lazio finished sixth, qualifying for the Europa League.
In the summer transfer window a lot of comings and goings. New arrivals were Alessio Romagnoli (free transfer), Mario Gila (Real Madrid) and Nicolò Casale (Verona) in defence, Marcos Antonio (Shakhtar Donetsk) and Matias Vecino (free transfer) at midfield, forward Matteo Cancellieri (Verona) plus goalkeepers Ivan Provedel (Spezia) and Luis Maximiano (Grenada). Lazio said goodbye to Pepe Reina (end of contract), Francesco Acerbi (loan to Inter), Luiz Felipe (end of contract), Jovane Cabral (end of loan), Lucas Leiva (end of contract), Jean Daniel Akpa Akbro (loan to Empoli) and Thomas Strakosha (end of contract).
The game against Bologna was the first of the season.
The match: Sunday, August 14, 2022, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Lazio started off in control of the game and had a shot with Toma Basic after only 20 seconds. Bologna were ready for the counter attack. After four minutes it looked like Luis Maximiano saved a ball using his hands outside the penalty box. The referee, Luca Massimi, was called by the VAR a few minutes later and after having a quick look at the on-field monitor, waved a red card in the face of the Portuguese goalkeeper, much to the incredulity of the Lazio fans and players.
A shock start for Lazio. Sarri took off Basic to put Ivan Provedel in goal and Lazio changed from 4-3-3 to 4-4-1 with Mattia Zaccagni and Felipe Anderson on the wings but instead of being on the attacking line, they moved back to midfield.
Ciro Immobile had a chance in the 13th minute but Lukasz Skorupski saved his shot. On the following corner Romagnoli had another opportunity but headed the ball directly into the hands of the Bologna goalkeeper.
At this point Bologna took over and Lazio started to pull back. Provedel saved the Biancocelesti in the 20th minute when former Lazio player Lorenzo De Silvestri found himself all alone in front of goal but the new Lazio signing showed why Lazio had invested in him.
Meanwhile, Adama Soumaoro started the competition “how many fouls does it take to be booked”. He was quickly joined by Andrea Cambiaso. Nicola Sansone, on the other hand, wanted to take the competition one step further and see if he could get a red card directly. However, Massimi did not want to play and decided that a yellow card for Sansone was more than enough.
In the 35th minute here came another game changer. Romagnoli headed the ball to Zaccagni in the penalty box. The former Verona player was slow to clear the ball and allowed Sansone to anticipate him just in time to be kicked by Zaccagni. For the ref it was a penalty, a decision confirmed by VAR.
Arnautović took the spot kick and it was 1-0 for Bologna. He also got a yellow card because of excessive and provocative celebrations in front of the Lazio fans.
In the 40th minute the referee finally decided that if Soumaro really wanted a yellow card why should he be so cruel and deny him one and at the fourth attempt the Bologna defender was finally booked.
Lazio were in shock and with one minute to go to the end of the first half Bologna almost made it two with Sansone but his shot was wide.
In the four minutes of added time the match changed. In the second minute, Manuel Lazzari did an Alberto Tomba and was possibly fouled on entry to the penalty box. Protests from Lazio and from all over the world but the referee was not convinced. In all fairness, not enough in it really for a penalty. At this point Lazzari went into a trance, got the ball in Lazio’s half, dribbled past one Bologna player, another, another, another and then was finally fouled by Soumaro. The French player was proclaimed the winner of the “how many fouls does it take to get a double booking” competition and sent off.
Both teams were now down to ten men and it was a whole new ball game. Kevin Bonifazi took Sansone’s place at the beginning of the second half.
In the second half, while everybody was expecting a Lazio assault, it was Bologna that took control early, but were never dangerous. Cambiaso was booked at last by the referee in the 53rd minute and would try to get sent off for the rest of the match but he just couldn’t convince Massimi who already had a winner in Soumaro.
Chance for Lazio in the 62th minute but Jerdy Schouten deflected Zaccagni’s shot into corner.
Three changes on the field: Soriano and Charalampos Lykonogiannis were substituted by Michel Aebischer and Denso Kasius for Bologna; for Lazio Luis Alberto took Danilo Cataldi’s place.
Five minutes later, Lazio equalised. Lazzari decided it was time for another foray into Bologna's half, entered the penalty box and took a shot, Skorupski deflected the ball onto De Silvestri who put it into his own net. Lazio 1 Bologna 1.
Lazio believed they could turn this around and took control. Adam Marusic’s attempt in the 76th minute was comfortably saved by the Bologna keeper and another slalom from Lazzari saw the Lazio defender’s subsequent shot go wide. Sinisa Mihajlovic sent in Musa Barrow substituting Nicolas Dominguez hoping for a miracle but it was not to be.
The goal was on its way. Bologna could not get rid of the ball just outside the penalty box, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic passed it to Ciro Immobile who, with only Skorupski to beat, made it 2-1.
There were 11 minutes to go but the game was virtually over. Bologna did not have any energy left and the only thing that was worth noting were the substitutions: in came Matteo Cancellieri (excellent last ten minutes), Matias Vecino and Elseid Hysaj for Felipe Anderson, Milinkovic Savic and Lazzari for Lazio and Emanuel Vignato instead of Cambiaso for Bologna.
Lazio deservedly, despite a terrible referee and an uphill start, pocketed the three points.
Who played for Lazio
Maximiano, Lazzari (83' Hysaj), Patric, Romagnoli, Marusic, Milinkovic-Savic (83' Vecino), Cataldi (65' Luis Alberto), Basic (8' Provedel), Felipe Anderson (83' Cancellieri), Immobile, Zaccagni
Substitutes: Adamonis, Gila, Radu, Kamenovic, Marcos Antonio, Bertini, Romero, Moro
Manager: Sarri
Who played for Bologna
Skorupski, Soumaoro, Medel, Lykogiannis (64' Kasius), De Silvestri, Dominguez (74' Barrow), Schouten, Soriano (64' Aebischer), Cambiaso (86' Vignato), Sansone (46' Bonifazi), Arnautovic.
Substitutes: Bardi, Bagnolini, Angeli, Orsolini, Raimondo, Motolese, Amey, Urbanski, Mbaye
Manager: Mihajlovic
Referee: Massimi
Goals: 8' Arnautovic (pen), 68' De Silvestri (og), 79' Immobile
What happened next
As we all know, an excellent season for Lazio who arrived second behind an unstoppable Napoli. To note is that Lazio have only come second three times before, 1936-37, 1994-95 and 1998-99, so this year’s result was a positive rarity in Lazio's history. Two derbies won, 21 clean sheets, victories against Napoli, Milan, Inter and Juventus, the only negative aspect was a poor European campaign where the Biancocelesti paid the price for their usual blackouts and were unlucky with the refs. They were relegated to the Conference League but eliminated by AZ Alkmaar in the Round of 16.
Felipe Anderson appeared in all the season’s games and Immobile, despite being hampered by injuries all year, was top scorer with 14 goals in all competitions.
Lazio 2022-23
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 38 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 60 |
Coppa Italia | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 |
Europa League | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
Conference League | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Total | 50 | 26 | 11 | 13 | 73 |
Top five appearances (complete statistics)
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Conference League |
50 | 38 | 2 | 6 | 4 | |
47 | 36 | 2 | 6 | 3 | |
46 | 36 | 2 | 5 | 3 | |
45 | 38 | - | 6 | 1 | |
45 | 35 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
Top five goal scorers (complete statistics)
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Conference League |
14 | 12 | - | 1 | 1 | |
Felipe Anderson | 12 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic | 11 | 9 | - | 2 | - |
Mattia Zaccagni | 10 | 10 | - | - | - |
Pedro | 8 | 5 | - | 2 | 1 |
Let's talk about Alessio Romagnoli
Alessio Romagnoli was born in Anzio, near Rome, on January 12, 1995. Noticed by Roma legend Bruno Conti, at ten years old he joined Roma, despite being a Lazio supporter and having Alessandro Nesta as his idol. After having gone through all the various age groups, Zdenek Zeman gave him his chance in the Coppa Italia game against Atalanta on December 11, 2012 and 11 days later he debuted in Serie A against Milan. In his second game on March 3 he even scored a goal in Roma’s victory against Genoa. In the 2013-14 season he played with more regularity as a left back. In 2014 he was loaned to Sampdoria and became a regular player under Sinisa Mihajlovic but in the centre of defence. Back from Genoa, Roma sold him to Milan in 2015.
He stayed seven years in Milan and appeared in 247 games (10 goals). He was captain of the team that won the scudetto in 2021-22 and also won a Super Coppa in 2016. He became one of the best Italian defenders. But Romagnoli had an objective: to play with Lazio. He refused to renew his contract and kept on telling Lazio Sports Director Igli Tare that he wanted to come to Lazio. In his last year he played less due to injury and because he did not want to renew his agreement. Once his contract expired he fulfilled his childhood dream.
In his first year at Lazio he appeared in 42 games in all competitions and scored two goals. He is a great defender, perfect sense of timing, calm, good with the ball, an ideal player for Maurizio Sarri. He played really well in 2022-23 and Lazio had 21 clean sheets in Serie A. In his second he was not so good, but neither were the Biancocelesti.
In Nazionale he has 13 caps but since he has joined Lazio he has been
ignored by Roberto Mancini. Amazing considering that alongside Nicolò Casale, Lazio had the best Italian defensive duo of Serie A.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Europa League | Conference League | Super Coppa |
2022-23 | 42 (2) | 34 (2) | 2 | - | 4 | 2 | - |
2023-24 | 39 | 29 | 3 | 6 | - | - | 1 |
Total | 81 (2) | 63 (2) | 7 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
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