Champions League Third Qualifying Round, Second Leg
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Stadionul National, Bucharest
Dinamo București Lazio 1-3
In difficult circumstances Lazio manage to beat Dinamo București coming from behind.
Lazio’s opponents for the Champions League preliminary round were drawn on August 3: Dinamo București. The first game was at home and it proved to be a very difficult match. The Romanians scored early, Tommaso Rocchi missed a penalty, three injuries (Emilson Cribari, Guglielmo Stendardo and Stefano Mauri) and two sendings off (Valon Behrami and Massimo Mutarelli). Despite all this, the Biancocelesti managed to equalise with Mutarelli and still had a glimmer of hope for the return game.
The match
The game proved to be an uphill one right from the start. Lazio in clear physical difficulty were almost overwhelmed by Dinamo in the first half. In the 25th minute Marco Ballotta had to parry a shot by Ionel Danciulescu. And two minutes later the Romanians went ahead. George Blay sent in a good ball for Florin Bratu on the right who beat Stendardo for speed and once he was in the box crashed a shot into the goal. At this point Lazio were out of the competition.
The team that came back in the second half, with nothing to lose, was completely different. In the 48th minute Simone Del Nero stole a ball in the box from Valise Nastase who fouled him. Penalty for Lazio and this time, unlike in the first leg, Rocchi scored the spot kick and now it was all square.
The Biancocelesti took over and Dinamo disappeared. In the 54th minute, Del Nero intercepted a ball in Lazio’s half and ran towards the box, followed by Rocchi and Goran Pandev. He passed to Rocchi, back heel to Pandev who resisted the return of Blay and with a low clinical shot put Lazio into the lead.
In the 57th minute Christian Manfredini’s shot was too high, in the 63rd Gaby Mudingayi from long range gave some problems to Bogdan Lobont and two minutes later Pandev hit the woodwork. The goal was coming and it came in the 66th minute. Cristian Ledesma to Pandev who put the ball through to Rocchi who beat the offside trap and all alone in front of Lobont made it three for Lazio.
Game over, the Biancocelesti went through to the Champions League group stage.
Who played for Dinamo București
Lobont, Blay, Nastase, Radu, Pulhac, Oprita (59' Chiacu), Ropotan, Margaritescu (76' Nicolescu), Cristea, Bratu, Danciulescu (72' Munteanu)
Substitutes: Romanovs, Nitu, Izvoranu, Ganea
Manager: Rednic
Who played for Lazio
Ballotta, De Silvestri, Stendardo (35’ Scaloni), Cribari, Zauri, Mudingayi, Ledesma, Manfredini, Del Nero (86’ Belleri), Rocchi, Pandev (90’ Tare)
Manager: D. Rossi
Referee: Mejuto Gonzalez (Spain)
Goals: 28' Bratu, 48' Rocchi (pen), 54' Pandev, 66' Rocchi
Sources
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