Beautiful
An impressive Lazio demolish Milan 4-0 to keep hopes of Champions League alive
Also on this day:
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.
For the 2022-23 season there were new players: goalkeepers Luis Maximiano (Granada) and Ivan Provedel (Spezia), defenders Mario Gila (Real Castilla), Alessio Romagnoli (free agent) and Nicolò Casale (Verona), midfielders Marcos Antonio (Shakhtar) and Matias Vecino (free agent) plus forward Matteo Cancellieri (Verona). Leaving Lazio were Pepe Reina, Thomas Strakosha, Luiz Felipe and Lucas Leiva (contracts not renewed), Francesco Acerbi (loan to Inter), Jean-Daniel Akpa-Akpro (loan to Empoli), Raul Moro (loan to Ternana) and Jovane Cabral (end of loan).
The Biancocelesti so far had done rather well and they were fifth in the company of Atalanta and Roma on 34 points, three behind Inter and Juventus. Today’s opponents, Milan, were currently second, four points higher up. Napoli had dominated Serie A so far and had a nine-point lead over the Rossoneri. Lazio had won the away derby and had also beaten Inter who were considered favourites at the start of the season.
In Europa League Lazio had come third in their group and were forced to play in the Conference League. Their next opponents were CFR Cluj. In Coppa Italia the Biancocelesti had just beaten Bologna and would now face Juventus in Turin.
The match: Tuesday Janaury 24, 2023, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Maurizio Sarri decided to put Adam Marusic on the right in order to stop Rafael Leao. The weekend results had given Lazio a great chance to get back into the Champions League zone. Milan, who had not been playing very well lately and had also lost the Supercoppa 3-0 the previous week in the derby against Inter, left Theo Hernandez at home and Stefano Pioli put Sergiño Dest in his place.
Lazio started the game in magnificent style. In the 5th minute Felipe Anderson passed to Mattia Zaccagni on the left, ball into the middle of the box, Luis Alberto let it pass under his legs, Felipe Anderson also let it go, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic transformed himself into Immobile and it was 1-0 for Lazio.
At this point, a long chess game between the two teams commenced. Everybody was moving according to the script prepared by their managers, Lazio were more cautious since they were leading, Milan possibly lacked aggressiveness. In the 19th minute Sandro Tonali from a central position outside the box shot, the ball was deflected but Ivan Provedel had no problems in making the save.
In the 22nd minute Pioli was forced to substitute Fikayo Tomori with Simon Kjaer due to injury.
In the 30th minute Milinkovic-Savic near the corner kick sent in a perfect ball for Zaccagni whose volley was deflected off a Milan defender into corner. Six minutes later Pedro’s acceleration cut through the Milan defence but his pass to Felipe Anderson was just a fraction too late and the Brazilian was anticipated by Dest.
In the 38th minute Pedro passed a wonderful ball on the right to Marusic who shot, deflection by Ciprian Tatarusanu onto the far post but Zaccagni was there for the tap in. 2-0 for Lazio.
A spectacular first half by the Biancocelesti. For the third consecutive game, Milan were trailing 2-0 at the interval.
The Rossoneri were a lot more aggressive in the second half and Lazio were in slight difficulty. In the 50th minute a great free kick by Ismael Bennacer, slightly deflected off the wall, was only just wide. Pioli sent in three players: Alexis Saelemekers, Charles De Ketelaere and Divock Origi replacing Junior Messias, Brahim Diaz and Olivier Giroud.
In the 62nd minute Milan had their best chance. De Ketelaere lobbed a ball into the box for Leao who, challenged by Elseid Hysaj, shot over the crossbar.
In the 67th minute Lazio made it three. Hysaj sent a long ball on the left to Felipe Anderson who raced down the pitch and got to it first. He was isolated against the Milan defence so he waited for Pedro to get into the middle of the box. When the Spaniard arrived, ball to him. As Pedro was about to shoot, he was fouled by Pierre Kalulu. The ref decided it was a penalty. Luis Alberto took the spot kick and it was 3-0 for Lazio.
Lazio were in complete control and playing beautifully and soon it was 4-0. Zaccagni on the left just outside the box sent the ball in to Luis Alberto who, like the magician he is, invented a fantastic pass and put Felipe Anderson in front of Tatarusanu. No mistake and game over.
All that followed were the remaining substitutions. In the 78th minute in came Luka Romero and Manuel Lazzari for Pedro and Marusic for Lazio and Ante Rebic for Leo for Milan. In the 83rd minute Toma Basic replaced Milinkovic-Savic and four minutes later Marcos Antonio came on for Danilo Cataldi.
Superb Lazio, fantastic Luis Alberto.
Who played for Lazio
Provedel, Marusic (79' Lazzari), Casale, Romagnoli, Hysaj, Milinkovic-Savic (83' Basic), Cataldi (86' Marcos Antonio), Luis Alberto, Pedro (78' Romero), Felipe Anderson, Zaccagni
Manager: Sarri
Who played for Milan
Tatarusanu, Calabria, Kalulu, Tomori (24' Kjaer), Dest, Bennacer, Tonali, Messias (58' Saelemaekers), Diaz (58' De Ketelaere), Leao (79' Leao), Giroud (59' Origi)
Substitutes: Mirante, Vasquez, Adli, Thiaw, Pobega, Krunic, Vranckx, Gabbia, Bozzolan
Manager: Pioli
Referee: Di Bello
What happened next
At the end of the first half of the season Lazio were third in the company of Inter and Roma and one point behind Milan. Napoli had pulled away and had a 12-point lead. Lazio had beaten Inter, Roma, Atalanta and Milan. The Biancocelesti continued with their good form, beating Roma again, Napoli away and Juventus. They finished second behind Napoli. To note is that Lazio had 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.
They had arrived third in their Europa League group and were forced to play in the Conference League where they were then eliminated in the round of 16 by AZ Alkmaar. In Coppa Italia they had been eliminated in the quarter finals by Juventus.
The player with most appearances was Felipe Anderson (50) but Ivan Provedel was the player with most minutes (4361). Top scorer was Ciro Immobile with 14 goals.
One of the more positive things of the season was the 21 clean sheets. The defensive issue of the previous year was gone.
Let's talk about Luka Romero
Luka Romero was born in Durango City, Mexico, on November 18, 2004. His father is a former Argentinian player who was playing in Mexico at the time. At the age of three his family moved to Villanueva de Cordoba in Spain and four years later, at only seven, he moved to Formentera to play for Ibiza based Sant Jordi. In 2011 he had a trial with Barcelona but since he was not 10 years of age yet and did not live in the area, he could not sign for them. When he did turn 10, he joined Mallorca on an eight-year youth contract. He was the youngest player ever to play a Liga game (15!!!!) and the youngest to score in the Spanish top League.
In 2021 he signed for Lazio. The media called him the new Messi, since physically he has some similarities with Leo, but it was yet to be understood if he had the skills. He debuted in Serie A on August 28 against Spezia, becoming the youngest Lazio player ever to play in Serie A at 16 years, 9 months and ten days.
In his first season he made 9 appearances, impressing manager Maurizio Sarri who began to use him a lot more in the beginning of the following season. Against Monza on November 22, 2022, he scored his first and only goal for the Biancocelesti. He is the second youngest Lazio player to score in Serie A after Alessandro Capponi, who in 1936 scored the winning goal against Lucchese. He was the youngest Argentine to score a goal in Serie A (previously it was Paulo Dybala). He was the first player born in 2004 to score in Serie A.
Luka Romero’s contract expired in June 2023. According to rumours, his agent asked for a €5 million bonus on the signature of a new agreement. President Claudio Lotito refused. Sarri played him less and less since he had no future in Rome. Romero then signed a five-year contract with AC Milan.
After six months, and just five appearances, he was loaned to Almería but could not avoid them being relegated. Back at Milan he was then sent on loan to Deportivo Alavés in the summer of 2024 but he did not play very much. In January 2025 he was sold to Cruz Azul in Mexico.
At Lazio he impressed. He may not have Messi's skills but he did show promise. So far his potential has yet to be fulfilled.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Conference League |
2021-22 | 9 | 8 | 1 | - | - |
2022-23 | 12 (1) | 6 (1) | 1 | 3 | 2 |
Total | 21 (1) | 14 (1) | 2 | 3 | 2 |
Sources
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