Game 15, Serie A
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Lazio Atalanta 3-0
Lazio dominate from start to finish and with three second half goals blow away Atalanta
Lazio had won 7, drawn 2 and lost 5, giving them 23 points and 6th position.
Atalanta had four former Lazio players in their squad, defenders Giuseppe Biava, Guglielmo Stendardo and Lionel Scaloni plus forward Rolando Bianchi.
So far in Serie A the "Dea” (The Godess) had won 3, drawn 5 and lost 6. The Bergamaschi were on 14 points, in 14th position.
Lazio were considered favourites today, nine points ahead, playing at home and having shown signs of improvement in their recent away win at Parma. Atalanta too came from a win, 3-2 at home to Cesena, but still looked like a team in difficulty.
The match
There were only 25,000 spectators for this Saturday evening game.
Lazio played with Filip Djordjevic again rather than Miro Klose and had to do without Lucas Biglia while Atalanta on paper looked quite offensive with Bianchi, German Denis and Maxi Moralez up front.
The first half immediately contradicted Atalanta's attacking intentions as they sat back and defended. Lazio were constantly forward but with intelligence and very rarely gave the visitors the possibility to counterattack.
There was not an abundance of chances, but they were almost all for Lazio. A central shot by Felipe Anderson was saved early on, then Stefan de Vrij and Stefano Mauri failed to make contact on a dangerous cross by Stefan Radu, Dušan Basta had a shot walled after a good run and Anderson had another shot saved comfortably by Sportiello. Atalanta had a dangerous shot by Bianchi go wide from the edge of the box. The Biancocelesti also had a penalty appeal for a challenge by Stendardo on Anderson but it looked like the former Lazio defender touched the ball before he hit the Brazilian's leg. Halftime Lazio 0 Atalanta 0.
Constant pressure by Lazio who had control of the game but no massive chances yet.
There were no changes at half time but Lazio immediately seemed to have more urgency and sharpness about them.
Atalanta risked to lose a man when Giulio Migliaccio elbowed Radu in the face but the referee deemed it only worthy of a yellow.
In the 51st minute Lazio found a way through and scored. It was Felipe Anderson who set it up with a good burst down the right and a precise low cross which Mauri only had to stretch slightly for to tap into the net. Lazio 1 Atalanta 0. An excellent piece of play by Anderson.
The game opened up but it was Lazio who continued to threaten. Mauri almost got his brace when his low left footed volley, from an unlikely angle, shaved the post.
Atalanta tried to change things by making some substitutions. In the 60th minute Marco D'Alessandro replaced Migliaccio and in the 64th Boukary Dramé came on for Cristiano Del Grosso.
The pattern of the game however continued to be in Lazio's favour and Anderson managed to get an angled low shot in but Marco Sportiello got his finger tips to it and it went out for a corner. Then it was Alvaro Gonzalez who had a low, powerful long-range effort but Sportiello was safe.
The goal was coming and it came in the 71st minute. Anderson found Mauri inside the box on the right and the Lazio captain curled a glorious left footed shot past Sportiello on his far post. Lazio 2 Atalanta 0.
At this point Lazio brought on Balde Keita (who had been warming up for a while) and the Nerazzurri tried Richmond Boakye instead of Bianchi. A few minutes later Klose came on for Djordjevic.
The "Dea" showed no signs of life and Lazio were cruising. In the 81st minute they made it three. Basta went down the right flank and chipped a cross into the middle where Senad Lulic transformed into Klose and twisting his body and diving sent a perfect header past Sportiello. Lazio 3 Atalanta 0.
Atalanta finally had a shot on target but it was a low, long-range strike which Federico Marchetti saved easily. Then it was Keita who almost stole the show, he went on a brilliant solo run dribbling past three defenders in a short space but then saw his shot go just wide. Final score Lazio 3 Atalanta 0.
A game totally dominated by Lazio. They had attacked the whole game, shown patience and once they found the breakthrough had no difficulty whatsoever in winning the game. If anything, they could have won by a wider margin. Standout performances by young Anderson and 35-year-old Mauri. Youth and experience bringing increasing optimism to the Lazio camp.
Who played for Lazio
Marchetti, Basta, de Vrij, Cana, Radu (82' Cavanda), A. Gonzalez, Ledesma, Lulic, Mauri (73' Keita), F. Anderson, Djordjevic (76' Klose)
Manager: Pioli
Who played for Atalanta
Sportiello, Benalouane, Stendardo, Cherubin, Del Grosso (64' Dramé), Migliaccio (60' D'Alessandro), Cigarini, Carmona, Moralez, Denis, Bianchi (73' Boakye)
Manager: Colantuono
Referee: Rocchi
Goals: 51' Mauri, 71' Mauri, 81' Lulic
Sources
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