Lazio beats everybody in Florence

Season 2017-18

Game 33, Serie A

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence

Fiorentina Lazio 3-4

A dramatic match, Lazio behind twice, absurd refereeing decisions, hostile crowd, but the Biancocelesti manage to pull through and secure the win.

This was the first season with the introduction of the VAR, the video assistant referee, which should have brought in fewer mistakes from the men in black. Should, because starting from the derby in November, Lazio were certainly not helped by the new system. The Roma penalty was very dubious (Lazio lost), the penalty given to Fiorentina the next game was non-existent (and Lazio drew), the penalty not given to Lazio against Torino was massive and the Ciro Immobile sending off ridiculous (Lazio lost). The limit was reached against Milan in January. Milan’s first goal came off a handball, but nobody noticed. This cost Lazio many points which could have allowed them to be much higher up.

After ten games Lazio were third with Juventus, behind Napoli and Inter, at the end of the first half of the season 4th. They went through a spell of three bad games from the game against Milan to February 19 but they recovered and were third together with Roma and one point above Inter. Lazio’s objective was, as usual, a place in the next season’s champions league.

The match

The game was a must win for Lazio if they wanted to keep Champions League hopes alive. And it seemed to start downhill for the Biancocelesti when the Fiorentina goalkeeper Marco Sportiello in the 7th minute was sent off. There was a long ball on the right wing for Ciro Immobile, Sportiello came out of the box and tried to kick it away but de facto passed it to Ciro who crossed and the Viola goalkeeper stopped the ball with his hands, but out of the area. The referee Damato was forced to send him off. But a doubt had entered his mind that maybe he could have been a bit more lenient.

In the 14th minute there was another game changer. Corner for Lazio, Martin Caceres headed the ball towards the top left hand corner and the substitute goalkeeper Bartłomiej Drągowski managed to catch it at the second attempt. Long pass forward to Enrico Chiesa who had to face Alessandro Murgia, thrown in after Marco Parolo got injured while preparing for this game. Chiesa did everything he possibly could to get a foul and literally dived at Murgia in the hope of getting the ref to send him off. It worked. Despite the fact that from the footage it was clear that Murgia was not looking at Chiesa and that it was the Viola player who ran towards Murgia looking for a foul, and despite the Lazio midfielder being miles away from the penalty box, he got a red card for a last man foul. Both teams were now with ten players.

The free kick was taken by Jordan Veretout and, if one knows how things often pan out with Lazio, 1-0 for Fiorentina.

The Biancocelesti reacted immediately and in the 18th minute Stefan de Vrij had a chance. Adam Marusic passed to the Dutch defender, immediate shot which beat Drągowski but German Pezzella saved on the line.

In the 25th minute Simone Inzaghi substituted De Vrij with Felipe Anderson and, just like Fiorentina seven minutes earlier, passed to a 4-4-1 formation. In the 27th minute, Lazio on the counterattack. Felipe Anderson sprinted down the right wing, once he was in the penalty box ball to Immobile but the Lazio centre forward was walled by Nikola Milenkovic.

The situation worsened in the 31st minute. Enrico Chiesa on the left passed the ball to Cristiano Biraghi, Luiz Felipe tried to intercept and it looked as if he got to the ball first but the ref instead decided it was a foul and therefore a penalty. Veretout made no mistake and the Viola were two up.

Lazio needed to do something and there was a probable penalty for the Biancocelesti in the 36th minute. Lucas Leiva received the ball on the centre right just outside the box and ran in. He was blocked by Fiorentina defenders but despite the penalty being rather obvious, the ref decided it was a corner.

In the 39th minute there was a free kick for Lazio. Splendid curling shot from Luis Alberto and the Biancocelesti reduced the deficit. In the first minute of injury time, Lazio equalised. Corner for Lazio, splendid cross by Luis Alberto, Caceres jumped higher than everybody else and headed the ball into the net. At the end of the first half 2-2.

In the 49th minute Jordan Lukaku crossed, the Fiorentina defence cleared, ball to Marusic outside the box, his volley was saved comfortably by Drągowski. Fiorentina scored in the 53rd minute with Giovanni Simeone but after a VAR check it was disallowed because the son of the former Lazio hero was in offside. A minute later though Fiorentina made it three. Veretout stole a ball off Leiva, dribbled past Luiz Felipe and scored.

Lazio again reorganised and first a penalty for Lazio was not given in the 60th minute because after a VAR check Immobile was found in offside, then a wonderful curling shot from King Ciro in the 67th was just a whisker too high. A minute later Simeone had a chance from a favourable position but Thomas Strakosha saved.

In the 70th minute Lazio equalised. Marusic on the right passed the ball to Felipe Anderson outside the box but dead centre. His marvellous shot was low, powerful and angled, nothing Dragowski could do.

Three minutes later the Biancoclesti made it four. Luis Alberto to Marusic on the right, low cross towards the centre of the box and splendid tap in by the Spaniard.

Fiorentina attacked, Lazio resisted and brought home the three points.

A fundamental win, Champions League is there for the taking.

Who played for Fiorentina

Sportiello, Milenkovic, Pezzella, Victor Hugo, Biraghi, Veretout, Dabo, Chiesa, Eysseric (9’ Dragowski), Gil Dias (79’ Saponara), Simeone (70’ Falcinelli)

Substitutes: Cerofolini, Laurini, Gaspar, Olivera, Benassi, Hristov, Ranieri, Gori

Manager: Pioli

Who played for Lazio

Strakosha, Luiz Felipe, de Vrij (25’ Felipe Anderson), Caceres, Marusic, Murgia, Leiva, Milinkovic-Savic, Lukaku (72’ Lulic), Luis Alberto, Immobile (87’ Caicedo)