Four minutes is enough to get rid of Lecce

Updated: Nov 18

2001-02 Season

Game 13, Serie A

Sunday, December 2, 2001

Stadio Via del Mare, Lecce

Lecce Lazio 1-2

A Crespo penalty and an Inzaghi goal in four minutes were enough to win away against a good Lecce.

The start was slow. Too slow. The team was demotivated and badly prepared. Dino Zoff had decided to go for a 3-5-2 formation, but the team was just not right. A draw at home against Piacenza, a draw against Perugia, another against Torino. Forced to play against Galatasary away in the first Champions League match on the infamous September 11, they lost 1-0.

The situation precipitated in the second Champions League match against Nantes. The 3-1 defeat at home was the final nail in the coffin for Zoff. He was replaced by Alberto Zaccheroni, former Udinese and Milan manager.

Zaccheroni’s start in the Campionato was a disaster, not so much for the result (one can lose against AC Milan) rather for the increasing amount of injuries: Giuseppe Favalli, Hernan Crespo, Alessandro Nesta and Dino Baggio. After five games Lazio were still to win a match and had scored only one goal in Serie A and one in Champions League.

However, things improved, Lazio started to play better and in Serie A by December they were on a roll: three consecutive wins and the last match was a convincing victory against Juventus.

Lazio however had been unable to solve its problems in Champions League and were already out of the tournament.

The match

This was not going to be an easy game, but there was optimism in the Lazio camp and things started off really well. Simone Inzaghi and Hernan Crespo missed several chances early on and Lecce were in real difficulty. After a couple of saves by the Lecce keeper, in the 30th minute Sebastian Cimirotic suddenly hit the crossbar from 30 metres out after seeing Luca Marchegiani a bit too far off his line. Five minutes later Inzaghi, again, had another incredible chance. All alone, with an open goal, he managed to put it wide.

Things changed considerably in the second half. In the 58th minute Stefano Fiore was fouled just inside the penalty box. Crespo made it 1-0. Four minutes later Inzaghi literally stomached the ball in the back of the net from Cesar cross and it was 2-0.

Lecce tried a comeback and pulled one back in the 68th minute with Bruno Cirillo, a fluky volley catching Marchegiani unawares. Nothing much happened after this. Lazio were in complete control and apart from a few handball appeals from Lecce not much else happened. Lazio’s consecutive wins were now up to four.

Who played for Lecce

Chimenti, Cirillo, Popescu, Savino, Giorgetti (46' Balleri), Superbi (66' Konan), Giacomazzi, Tonetto, Colonnello, Cimirotic (46' Vugrinec), Chevanton

Subsitutes: Frezzolini, Juarez, Malusci, Silvestri

Manager: Cavasin

Who played for Lazio

Marchegiani, Negro, Nesta, Fernando Couto, Cesar, Poborsky, Liverani, D. Baggio, Fiore (87’ Colonnese), Crespo, S. Inzaghi (78’ Kovacevic)