Lazio dominate league leaders

Season 1986-87

Game 22, Serie B

Sunday, March 1, 1987

Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Lazio Pescara 3-0

An impressive display shows Lazio were promotion material had it not been for the heavy point handicap

After the first 19 fixtures Lazio had conquered 24 points, so were on 15. In the last two matches however, the Biancocelesti had drawn 1-1 at home to Parma and then lost 0-2 away to Messina. A win was needed today against high flying Pescara.

The Abruzzesi had won 10, drawn 6 (including Lazio 1-1) and lost 5 and were surprisingly joint top with Cremonese, on 26 points.

The match: Sunday, March 1, 1987, Stadio Olimpico, Rome

A mild, sunny day and the league leaders attracted almost 50,000 spectators to the Olimpico. The choice of referee also reflected the importance of the game, top level Paolo Casarin (FIFA referee).

A minute's silence was observed before kick-off for the recent passing of Umberto Lenzini, the Lazio president of the 1974 scudetto.

Lazio today played without a proper centre-forward, instead opting for Fabio Poli and Paolo Mandelli behind a deeper lying "falso nueve" Giorgio Magnocavallo. Pescara had two important absences, top scorer Stefano Rebonato and sweeper Luigi Ciarlantini.

Lazio started at an electric pace. The Biancocelesti did not give Pescara time to think and were all over them. Lazio’s movements looked perfectly synchronised and the visitors were constantly and immediately dispossessed when they had the ball.

Lazio's superiority bore its fruits in the 14th minute. Roberto Bosco fouled Domenico Caso outside the box on the left and conceded a freekick. Caso floated it into the area where Angelo Gregucci got a light touch with his head and the ball reached Pasquale Marino who controlled it with his left foot and drilled it in from close range. Lazio 1 Pescara 0.

Only six minutes passed and Lazio scored again. A perfect Poli-Mandelli one-two set up Poli who, after jiggling past a defender, blasted a cross goal left-footed shot that gave Giuseppe Gatta no chance. A great goal and Lazio 2 Pescara 0.

At this point the Abruzzesi stirred slightly and had attempts by Bosco, Rocco Pagano and Gianluca Gaudenzi but nothing too worrying for Giuliano Terraneo. Halftime Lazio 2 Pescara 0.

After the break the Dolphins' attempts to resurface faded and Lazio took control again.

In the 59th minute Lazio virtually wrapped up the game when they scored a third. It was another spectacular goal, Poli crossed into the area from the right vertex and Mandelli twisted and dived, sending a brilliant header into the right-hand corner. Lazio 3 Pescara 0.

Lazio were so confident of the situation that a minute later they replaced Giuliano Terraneo with reserve keeper Mario Ielpo. Pescara too desperately tried to remedy by putting on a striker Luigi De Rosa for Gaudenzi.

The Biancazzurri did have a huge chance in the 64th minute to reduce the deficit. Primo Berlinghieri did well in the area and pulled the ball back to Gasperini who hammered the ball towards goal but, with Ielpo beaten, Magnocavallo managed to clear on the goal line.

It was a flash in the pan as Lazio then continued to dominate. More good news for Lazio came in the 75th minute when their main striker, Giuliano Fiorini came on, after being out for two months due to injury.

The centre-forward from Modena almost scored on two occasions. First, he had a low effort saved by Gatta and then he hit the post. Not to worry Lazio would need his goals in the future, for now the game was won. Lazio 3 Pescara 0.

A great win for the Romans who proved that without the nine-point docking they would have been serious promotion contenders. In fact, without the handicap Lazio would now be top of the table. Unfortunately, they still had relegation worries but these two points were a huge boost.

It was a reality check for Pescara but on today's form Lazio would probably have beaten several Serie A sides too.

Who played for Lazio

Terraneo (60' Ielpo), Podavini, Acerbis, Esposito, Gregucci, Marino, Poli, Caso, Magnocavallo, Pin, Mandelli (75' Fiorini)