Lazio are alive and Muriqi exists
An excellent display by Lazio who dominate in Bergamo and discover their Kosovarian striker may not be made of stone after all.
Also on this day: January 31, 1993, Lazio Sampdoria 2-1. Lazio defeat rivals for Europe with goals by Riedle and Stroppa. Player of the day: Giovanni Stroppa
The season so far
The world and football were still very much affected by the Covid-19. Matches were being played in empty stadiums but, as they say, the show must go on.
Lazio had confirmed Simone Inzaghi as manager after the previous year's Champions League qualification. This season Lazio were not the almost perfect machine they had been up until lockdown, but they were now showing signs of improvement.
The first match of the season they were defeated by today's opposition 4-1. They had won 10, drawn 4 and lost 5 so were on 34 points, not in the top four positions. They had however destroyed city rivals Roma two weeks earlier 3-0 and beaten Sassuolo 2-1 a week later, making it four wins in a row. So, they came into this match on a bit of a high.
Lazio had made some changes to the squad in the summer but the majority of the new players were proving to be disappointing. The new arrivals were veteran goalkeeper Pepe Reina (Milan), defenders Wesley Hoedt (Southampton- back on loan), Mohamed Fares (Spal), midfielders Jean Daniel Akpa Akpro (Salernitana), Andreas Pereira (Man.U- loan), Gonzalo Escalante (free agent -Eibar) plus striker Vedat Muriqi (Fenerbahçe). In January Lazio added defender Matteo Musacchio (Milan) to their books.
These new players were to various degrees underperforming and not adding quality and the depth of choice Inzaghi had hoped for. On a more positive note, Ciro Immobile was still firing away and already had 13 league goals.
Leaving Lazio had been goalkeeper Guido Guerrieri (Salernitana), defenders Jordan Lukaku (Antwerp), Wallace (Yeni Malatyaspor), Bastos (Al-Ain), midfielders André Anderson (Salernitana-loan), Milan Badelj (Genoa), Jony (Osasuna- loan with option to buy) and striker Bobby Adekanye (Cadiz- loan). In January there had been further departures; defenders Durmisi (Salernitana- loan), Denis Vavro (Huesca-loan) and goalkeeper Silvio Proto had retired.
In the Champions League they got through the group stage unbeaten with 2 wins (Borussia Dortmund and Zenit St. Petersburg both 3-1) and 4 draws (Zenit, Borussia D and twice with Brugge). The bad news was that they had drawn Bayern Munich in the next round, games to be played in February.
Atalanta had also qualified for Champions League the previous season with an excellent 3rd place under Gian Piero Gasperini.
The Bergamaschi had started this season well winning the first three matches (including Lazio away 4-1). They had since beaten Roma 4-1 and drawn away at Juventus. The week before today's clash they had beaten Milan away 3-0. They had so far won 10, drawn 6 and lost4 giving them 36 points, 2 more than Lazio. Top scorer was Muriel with 10 goals.
Atalanta too had made some changes in the summer market. They had brought in three midfielders; Mario Pašalić (confirmed-completed buy from Chelsea), Aleksej Miranchuk (Lokomotiv Moscow) and Matteo Pessina (Verona- back from loan). They also added forward Sam Lammers (PSV Eindhoven) and in January had recently signed Joakim Mæhle (Genk).
Leaving Bergamo were keeper Etrit Berisha (former Lazio to Spal), defenders Raoul Bellanova (Pescara- loan), Timothy Castagne (Leicester City) and Arkadiusz Reca (Crotone- loan). In January keeper Carnesecchi left (Cremonese-loan), defender Fabio De Paoli (Sampdoria-end of loan) and above all striker Alejandro Gómez (Seville) after a fall out with manager Gasperini.
In Champions League Atalanta too had qualified for the next round. In the group stage they had won 3 (including historic win at Anfield vs Liverpool), drawn 2 and lost 1, in a group completed by Ajax and Miidtylland. The not so good news was that their next opponents would be Real Madrid.
So, we have two teams with Champions League ambitions for the following year and with only two points dividing them in the table, therefore today's game was of vital importance. It was also a chance for instant revenge for Lazio who only four days earlier had lost in Bergamo (3-2) and been knocked out of the Coppa Italia.
The match: Sunday, January 31, 2021, Stadio Gewiss, Bergamo
A nice, sunny, winter day in Lombardy but with the usual depressing spectacle of empty stands.
The good news for Inzaghi was the return of "Il Mago" Luis Alberto after his appendicitis operation. For Atalanta, Gasperini chose Miranchuk over Pašalić and Zapata over Muriel.
Lazio wore their dazzling fluorescent greenish-yellow shirts and their start was just as bright. After only three minutes they took the lead. A fantastic long-range curling shot into the top hand corner by Adam Marusic put Lazio ahead. Atalanta 0 Lazio 1.
Lazio continued to impress and almost doubled their lead on several occasions. A Sergej Milinkovic-Savic freekick shaved the post and then came an amazing move that has to be described. Immobile, just outside the area on the left, passed to a more central Luis Alberto who, showing his proverbial magical qualities literally hid the ball from four Atalanta defenders displaying audacious skills, then slid the ball back to Ciro Immobile who put in a perfect cross for a Milinkovic-Savic header which hit the post. A fantastic move and goal of the year almost...The first half ended with Lazio a goal up, but they had deserved at least another while Atalanta had been kept very quiet.
The second goal however was on the way. Lazio were playing too well to be leading by a solitary goal. After only six minutes of the second half Lazio scored again. A long kick by keeper Reina arrived in the centre circle where Immobile headed it on to Joaquin Correa who, beating the offside trap, ran onto it and suddenly had only Pierluigi Gollini to beat, he went around him and from a slight angle left footed the ball into the net. Atalanta 0 Lazio 2, a fairer reflection of Lazio's dominance so far.
Lazio continued to go forward and almost made it three. A clever ball by Milinkovic-Savic put Manuel Lazzari through on the right wing, he entered the area but his shot was well saved by Gollini, who had come off his line and narrowed the angle.
In the 78th minute Atalanta pulled one back and reopened the game. A shot by Muriel beat Reina but came back off the post, Mario Pašalić was in the right place to make it 1-2. Game on.
Game on but not for long. Lazio could not throw away a game played so well and they didn't. In the 82nd minute Milinkovic-Savic again put Andreas Pereira through on the right and the Brazilian, with the keeper coming out, slotted it across to Vedat Muriqi who had the easiest of tap ins. Atalanta 1 Lazio 3 and finally a goal by the Kosovarian striker (he had been paid almost 20 million Euros and had been, let's face it, absolutely awful).
Atalanta had no more energy at this point to even attempt a reaction and Lazio controlled the game for the last ten minutes. A superb display by Lazio who had shown a clear superiority against an in-form Atalanta.
Who played for Atalanta
Gollini, Toloi, Palomino, Djimsiti; Mæhle, De Roon, Freuler (78' Caldara), Ruggeri (46' Malinovskyi); Miranchuk, Ilicic (67' Lammers), Zapata (54' Muriel)
Subs: Pessina, Rossi, Scalvini, Sportiello
Manager: Gasperini
Who played for Lazio
Reina, Patric (38' Musacchio), Acerbi, Radu; Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic, Leiva (80' Escalante), Luis Alberto (54' Akpa Akpro), Marusic; Immobile (80' Muriqi), Correa (81' A. Pereira)
Manager: Inzaghi
Referee: Chiffi
Goals: 3' Marusic, 51' Correa, 78' Pašalić, 82' Muriqi
What happened next
Lazio would win the next three matches all 1-0 (Cagliari, Inter and Sampdoria) reaching eight consecutive victories. They were then abruptly brought down to earth with a 2-0 defeat in Bologna.
The wind went out of their sails and the Biancocelesti ended up 6th. Despite a 3-0 win against Milan, five more defeats (including the return derby) "condemned" Lazio to a Europa League qualification. Their season finished with 21 wins, 5 draws and 12 defeats, so with 68 points.
The squad, especially due to the new arrivals, did not have enough strength in depth to go the distance competitively in the various competitions. Vedat Muriqi in particular was an absolute disaster and today's goal would remain unrepeated in the league. There was however no way he could have really been as useless as he was with Lazio and in fact he is now enjoying some success in the Liga in Spain with Mallorca.
In the current Champions League Bayern Munich proved too strong and Lazio were beaten 1-4 at home and 1-2 away.
Immobile was top scorer again with a total of 25 goals (20 in the league).
This would turn out to be Simone Inzaghi's last season at Lazio. He made a surprise departure to Inter after disagreements with President Lotito.
Atalanta on the other hand recovered from today's slump and had another excellent season.
A week later they drew 3-3 with Torino but then won four matches in a row. They again finished 3rd, qualifying for the Champions League. They won 23, drew 9 and lost 6, giving them 78 points.
In the current top European club tournament, the Orobici bowed out against Real Madrid 0-1 at home and 1-3 away.
Atalanta also had a good Coppa Italia campaign, reaching the final but losing 1-2 against Juventus.
Their top scorer was Colombian Muriel with 26 goals (22 in Serie A).
The Scudetto was won by Antonio Conte's Inter ahead of Milan while Serie B opened its unwelcoming doors to Parma, Benevento and Crotone.
Lazio 2020-21
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 38 | 21 | 5 | 12 | 61 |
Coppa Italia | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 4 |
Champions League | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 13 |
Total | 48 | 24 | 9 | 15 | 78 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League |
Marusic | 46 | 36 | 2 | 8 |
42 | 32 | 2 | 8 | |
Akpa-Akbro | 42 | 32 | 2 | 8 |
Immobile | 41 | 35 | 1 | 5 |
Milinkovic-Savic | 41 | 32 | 2 | 7 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League |
Immobile | 25 | 20 | - | 5 |
Correa | 11 | 8 | - | 3 |
9 | 9 | - | - | |
9 | 8 | - | 1 | |
Milinkovic-Savic | 8 | 8 | - | - |
Let's talk about Adam Marusic
Adam Marušić was born in Belgrade in Serbia, on October 17, 1992. He is of Montenegrin nationality.
He was however also brought up in Serbia and started playing football for local teams Teleoptik and Voždovac.
It was with Voždovac that he made his professional debut in 2010. Between 2010 and 2014 he made 89 league appearances with 15 goals.
In 2014 he moved to Belgium to play for Kortrijk in the Pro League. He stayed two years playing 71 league games (with 10 goals) and 3 in the domestic cup (with 1 goal).
In 2016 he changed teams but stayed in Belgium. He joined Oostende but only for one year, playing 35 league games (with 5 goals) and 4 cup games.
In the summer of 2017 he joined Lazio. In Rome he found manager Simone Inzaghi who played him 32 times in Serie A (3 goals -Verona, Benevento, Milan), 1 in Coppa Italia, 5 in Europa League and in the Italian Supercoppa (won 3-2 against Juventus).
In his second year he played 26 league games (1 goal-Parma), 4 in Coppa Italia and 4 in the Europa League (1 goal- Olympique Marseille). Lazio won the Coppa Italia in May, 2018, beating Atalanta 2-0.
In 2019-2020 he only played 15 league games (2 goals- Parma, Genoa). Lazio were flying until Covid- 19 interrupted the season and eventually came 4th, qualifying for Champions League. Lazio won the Italian Supercoppa, in Riyadh in December, beating Juventus 3-1.
The following season he played more regularly, getting 36 Serie A games (2 goals- Atalanta, Udinese), 2 in Coppa Italia and 8 in Europa League. Lazio came 6th qualifying for the Europa League.
In 2021-2022, with stadiums gradually starting to fill up again, Marušić made 33 Serie A appearances (1 goal-Genoa), 2 in Coppa Italia and 6 in Europa League. It was Lazio's first year under new manager Maurizio Sarri and the Biancocelesti finished 5th.
At International level Marušić has won 50 caps for Montenegro and scored 3 goals (Turkey, Gibraltar, Bosnia).
Marušić is usually played at right full-back but can also be deployed as right flank midfielder and even on the left. He is 1.85 metres tall for 76 kilos so is a physically strong player. He is good in the air, quick and possesses precise passing abilities. He is strong at ball interception so ideal for Sarri's style of play, getting the ball back as quickly as possible and then keeping control of it. The Montenegrin is a reliable player, rarely having a really bad game. This reliability however sometimes hinders his creativity and willingness to take risks, sometimes going for the safest option, not always the worst thing by any means, but there is sometimes the feeling Marušić could do more.
He has had a good spell at Lazio so far. He has played a total of 173 matches with 10 goals for the Biancocelesti not counting the current season and has won 3 trophies. There is the promise of many more games to come and hopefully some more trophies.
Lazio Career
Season | Total played (Goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Europa League | Conference League | Super Coppa |
2017-18 | 39 (3) | 32 (3) | 1 | - | 5 | - | 1 |
2018-19 | 34 (2) | 26 (1) | 4 | - | 4 (1) | - | - |
2019-20 | 15 (2) | 15 (2) | - | - | - | - | - |
2020-21 | 46 (2) | 36 (2) | 2 | 8 | - | - | - |
2021-22 | 41 (1) | 33 (1) | 2 | - | 6 | - | - |
2022-23 | 44 | 33 | 2 | - | 6 | 3 | |
2023-24 | 28 | 20 | 2 | 5 | - | - | 1 |
Total | 247 (10) | 195 (9) | 13 | 13 | 21 (1) | 3 | 2 |
Sources
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