Game 5, Serie A
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Lazio Genoa 2-0
After eight consecutive defeats Lazio overcome "bête noir" with goals by Djordjevic and Felipe Anderson
So far Lazio had won 2 (Bologna 2-1, Udinese 2-0) but been thrashed by Chievo 0-4 and Napoli 0-5. They had to find some consistency.
Genoa had not got off to a great start. The "Grifone" (The Griffin) had won 1 (Verona 2-0 at home) and lost 3 (Palermo 0-1, Fiorentina 0-1 away and Juventus 0-2 at home).
The match
There was not a big crowd tonight, less than 20,000. The fans who had turned up were not exactly happy either, in open polemic with the club owner Claudio Lotito for the poor market campaign and with the team for the recent two humiliating away defeats. If you threw into the mix Miro Klose and Antonio Candreva were out injured and the fact that Lazio came from eight consecutive defeats against Genoa, it was clear the atmosphere was not idyllic for the Lazio players. In fact, the incredible statistics read, from 2011-12, Lazio played 8 against Genoa and lost all 8, despite often playing well, a sort of jinx.
Predictably, Lazio started tense and hesitant, the visitors realised immediately and tried to take advantage. Genoa began on the front foot and had several chances. The first and biggest came after only five minutes when Tomas Rincon received a square ball from Goran Pandev and fired a low shot towards the left corner but it came back off the post with Federico Marchetti beaten.
Lazio were quiet apart from a couple of Felipe Anderson jiggling runs and a Ricardo Kishna lob miles over the bar.
Genoa sensed Lazio's difficulties and pushed forward. A Nicola Burdisso header went wide from a corner, then Rincon danced past Santiago Gentiletti and hammered a shot which Marchetti managed to save low with his foot and a few minutes later Olivier Ntcham's low strike went wide. All Genoa so far.
Lazio finally stirred in the 33rd minute when Kishna floated in a freekick from the left which Sergej Milinkovic-Savic headed strongly and centrally towards goal but Eugenio Lamanna acrobatically tipped the ball over for a corner.
Signs of life from Lazio who in the 35th minute took the lead. A perfect cross from Senad Lulic was met by Filip Djordjevic who coordinated himself, twisted and dived, to send a low header into the opposite corner. The offside trap had clearly failed as the Serb was completely unmarked. Lazio 1 Genoa 0. Some clouds lifted over the Olimpico.
The remainder of the first half saw some dangerous freekicks from the edge of the area, one for Lazio and two for Genoa. For the Biancocelesti Djordjevic put it just too high while Panagiotis Tachtsidis tried high and low but both were well saved by Marchetti. Half time Lazio 1 Genoa 0.
After a petrified 25 minutes Lazio had shaken off their worries and could be more optimistic for the second half while Genoa were regretting not having taken advantage of the heavy atmosphere surrounding the home team.
During the break Genoa made two replacements; Blerim Dzemaili for Tachtsidis and Diego Capel for Ntcham.
The second half started with a potentially crucial detail, Issa Cissokho was soon sent off for his second yellow trying to stop an inspired Anderson. Genoa in 10 men.
Lazio eventually made the extra man count with their best player so far. In the 73nd minute Anderson picked up a headed clearance just outside the box and sent a sublime curling right footer into the top far hand corner. Lazio 2 Genoa 0. Could the jinx be over?
Some minutes later things got even worse for the "Grifone" when Pandev was shown his marching orders for elbowing Mauricio in an aerial challenge. Genoa in 9 men and 2-0 down, surely "la bestia nera" (the běte noir, bogey) was beaten.
If they weren't in 9 they were definitely in 8 when Rincon was forced off injured after Gasperini had used all his substitutions. At that point in 11 against 8 Lazio stopped pushing in a tacit form of respect for the slayed beast. Final score Lazio 2 Genoa 0.
Three important points for Lazio, a psychological boost and a jump in the table leapfrogging bitter rivals Roma, always enough to send the fans home happy, for now.
Lazio still did not look like the team from the previous season but the table was now reasonably healthy and with Felipe Anderson in such devastating form there were some reasons to be optimistic.
Who played for Lazio
Marchetti, Basta, Mauricio, Gentiletti, Lulic, Cataldi, Parolo, Felipe Anderson (82' Mauri), Milinkovic-Savic (82' Morrison), Kishna, Djordjevic (78' Keita)
Manager: Pioli
Who played for Genoa
Lamanna, De Maio, Burdisso, Marchese, Cissokho, Rincon (46' Dzemaili), Laxalt, Ntcham (46' Capel), Pandev, Perotti (59' Figueiras)
Substitutes: Ujkani, Sommariva, Ierardi, Lazovic, Asencio Raul
Manager: Gasperini
Referee: Rizzoli
Goals: 35' Djordjevic, 73' F. Anderson
Sources
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