March 17 2019: Lazio-Parma 4-1
- Dag Jenkins
- Mar 17
- 9 min read
First half destruction
Lazio score four in first half to blow away Ducali visitors
Also on this day:
The season so far
Lazio had finished 5th the previous season under Simone Inzaghi. The highlights were wins against Milan 4-1, Sampdoria 4-0, Sassuolo 6-1, Benevento 6-2 at home and Juventus 2-1, Benevento 5-1, SPAL 5-2 and Fiorentina 4-3 away. They fought for a Champions League slot until the last game but were ultimately beaten 2-3 and overtaken by Inter. A disappointing end. Top scorer was Ciro Immobile with 41 goals (29 in A).
Lazio had however won a trophy, defeating Juventus 3-2 to lift the Italian Supercoppa. A fantastic win with a 93rd minute winner, after Juventus had come back from 0-2 late on.
In the UEFA Cup they had reached the quarterfinals but lost to Salzburg 5-6 (with 3 goals conceded in 4 minutes in the return leg). In Coppa Italia the Biancocelesti lost on penalties in the semi-final to Milan (after two 0-0 draws).
This season Inzaghi was still head coach. The main new signings were: keeper Silvio Proto (Olympiakos), defenders Francesco Acerbi (Sassuolo), Riza Durmisi (Betis Sevilla), midfielders Milan Badelj (Fiorentina), Valon Berisha (Salzburg), Danilo Cataldi (Benevento - back from loan) plus forward Joaquín Correa (Sevilla).
Leaving Rome were: keeper Federico Marchetti (Genoa), defender Stefan de Vrij (Inter), midfielder Davide Di Gennaro (Salernitana - on loan), Felipe Anderson (West-Ham) plus forwards Filip Djordjevic (Chievo) and Nani (Valencia - end of loan and then Sporting Lisbon).
In Serie A, Lazio were currently in joint 9th place on 42 points, 8 points from 4th placed Inter (in last CL slot). Lazio had won 12, drawn 6 and lost 8. Lazio however were going through a good spell of form, in the last 3 games they had won 2 (including Roma 3-0) and drawn 1 (Fiorentina 1-1 away). Lazio also had a game in hand as the home game against Udinese, scheduled for February 24, had been postponed to April 17.
In the Europa League Lazio had come 2nd in their group after 3 wins (Apollon Limassol 2-1 at home, Olympique Marseille home and away, 2-1 and 3-1) and lost 3 (Apollon Limassol 0-2 away and Eintracht Frankfurt home and away, 1-2 and 1-4). This meant a round of 32 clash with serial winners Sevilla which Lazio lost 0-3 on aggregate.
In Coppa Italia, Lazio beat Novara 4-1 at home and then Inter on penalties away (1-1 a.e.t). In the first leg of the semi-final the Biancocelesti had drawn 0-0 at home against Milan, the return leg would be on April 24.
Parma were newly promoted after three seasons away from the top flight and three consecutive promotions (had fallen to 4th tier due to financial difficulties). The Gialloblu had finished 2nd in Serie B under Roberto D'Aversa. Top scorer was Emanuele Calaiò with 14 goals (13 in B).
This season D'Aversa was still in charge. The Ducali had made several changes to their squad; arriving were: goalkeeper Luigi Sepe (Napoli), defenders Bruno Alves (Rangers), Alessandro Bastoni (Atalanta - on loan), Federico Dimarco (Inter - on loan), Massimo Gobbi (Chievo), midfielders Alessandro Deiola (Cagliari - on loan), Alberto Grassi (Napoli), Leo Štulac (Venezia), Luca Rigoni (Genoa) plus forwards Jonathan Biabiany (Inter), Gervinho (Hebei CFFC) and Mattia Sprocati (Lazio - on loan). In January midfielder Juraj Kucka (Trabzonspor) was also added.
Leaving Parma were: defender Alessandro Lucarelli (retiring after 350 games), midfielders Pasquale Mazzocchi (Perugia), Manuel Scavone (Lecce - on loan) plus forward Roberto Inglese (Napoli - end of loan and then Benevento). In January Deiola left (Cagliari - end of loan) as did midfielder Gianni Munari (Verona - on loan) and forward Emanuele Calaiò (Salernitana).
In Serie A, Parma were currently 11th on 33 points. They had won 9 (including Inter 1-0 away), drawn 6 (including Juventus 3-3 away) and lost 12 (including Lazio 0-2). They were virtually safe as they had twelve points on Bologna in 18th place but not arithmetically.
In Coppa Italia the Parmensi had gone out immediately in mid-August losing 0-1 at home to Pisa.
Lazio were favourites today but Parma were a decent mid-table side.
The match: Sunday, March 18, 2019, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A classic 3 p.m. Sunday kick-off with decent weather brought about 40,000 spectators to the Olympic stadium.
Lazio were without top striker Ciro Immobile who was suspended while Parma had midfielder Leo Štulac missing.
Parma started off playing like a team who did not have much more to ask from the season while Lazio looked a lot hungrier.
In the 19th minute however the visitors had a penalty appeal when Roberto Inglese was "sandwiched" between goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha and defender Stefan Radu. The Tuscan referee Banti saw nothing seriously wrong and played on.
It was the only time the visitors would visit the Lazio area who from then on dominated.
In the 22nd minute the Biancocelesti took the lead. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic put in a low through ball into the right side of the area which Adam Marusic ran onto and beat Luigi Sepe on the front post with a low drive. The keeper was not impeccable but Lazio 1 Parma 0.
Four minutes later Lazio were awarded a penalty. Senad Lulic crossed from the left and Simone Iacoponi touched it with his open arm while jumping. A clear infringement in today's game, where you have the almost impossible task of jumping, tackling and sliding with your arms stuck by your side. Luís Alberto's spot kick was not great but went under Sepe's body to give Lazio the double lead, 2-0.
Parma had no reaction and in the 38th minute Lazio scored again. A good team move set up Luís Alberto at the edge of the box and his powerful low drive beat Sepe again. Lazio 3 Parma 0.
Just before halftime it got worse for the visitors. In the 44th minute Lazio had a corner kick from the right but Luis Alberto, instead of swinging it high into the area, cut it back low to the edge where Lulic blasted in a low shot to Sepe's left. Halftime Lazio 4 Parma 0 and practically game over already.
The second half was more like a friendly. Lazio had more chances with Joaquín Correa and then just controlled the game. Both Lucas Leiva (60th minute) and Senad Lulic (76th), who were both one yellow card from a suspension, were taken off and replaced by Danilo Cataldi and Riza Durmisi while young Pedro Neto was given a chance from the 65th taking Felipe Caicedo's place.
Parma also made two changes; Fabio Ceravolo for Luca Siligardi in the 57th minute and Mattia Sprocati for an out of position Jonathan Biabiany in the 70th.
It took the former Lazio owned player only seven minutes to get on the scoresheet albeit with the help of a massive blunder by Patric. In the 77th minute the Spanish defender completely mishit a pass back to the keeper from just outside the area on the left and Sprocati thanked, ran on a few metres and curled a low shot in on the far post. Lazio 4 Parma 1.
Luís Alberto almost made it five with a wonderful curling shot from outside the box on the left but it went just wide. Very close to a hat-trick for the Andalusian who had a brilliant game. Final score Lazio 4 Parma 1.
A convincing and comfortable win for the Biancocelesti against a poor and apathetic Parma side. Without talisman Immobile the midfielders had stepped up and given a good contribution of goals.
Lazio now moved up to joint 7th with Atalanta on 45 points and, with a game in hand, only two points behind Roma who had lost 2-1 at SPAL. Parma were on 33 and joint 11th with Genoa and now a slightly less reassuring 9-point cushion on the relegation zone.
Who played for Lazio
Strakosha, Patric, Acerbi, Radu, Marusic, Milinkovic-Savic, Leiva (60' Cataldi), Luís Alberto, Lulic (76' Durmisi), Correa, Caicedo (65' Neto)
Manager: S. Inzaghi
Who played for Parma
Sepe, Iacoponi, Bruno Alves, Gagliolo, Di Marco, Biabiany (70' Sprocati), Rigoni, Kucka, Siligardi (57' Ceravolo), Gervinho
Substitutes: Frattali, Brazao, Bastoni, Gobbi, Dezi, Diakhate, Machin, Schiappacasse, Davordzie
Manager: D'Aversa
Referee: Banti
Goals: 22' Marusic, 26' Luís Alberto (pen), 38' Luis Alberto, 44' Lulic, 77' Sprocati
What happened next
In the next game Lazio beat Inter 1-0 away but eventually finished 8th and qualified for the Europa League. In the next ten games after Inter the Biancocelesti won 3 (including Udinese 2-0), drew 2 and lost 5. Too inconsistent to challenge for the Champions League places, a 1-2 home defeat to already relegated Chievo on April 20 blew away any last possibilities. Some of the new signings had been very disappointing too, such as Durmisi but especially Berisha. Top scorer was Ciro Immobile with 19 goals (15 in A).
In the Coppa Italia things went better. Lazio beat Milan 1-0 away with a Correa goal to qualify for the final. On May 15 on a cold, wet night in Rome the Biancocelesti then triumphed 2-0 against Atalanta with late goals by Milinkovic-Savic and Correa to lift their 7th Italian Cup.
So ultimately it was a positive season.
Parma finished 14th, only 3 points from Serie B. They relaxed too much and in the last ten games they won 1, drew 5 and lost 4. Top scorer was Gervinho with 11 goals (10 in A).
Serie A was won by Juventus for their 35th title and 8th in a row. The unlucky three going down were Chievo, Empoli and Frosinone (Chievo are now in Serie D).
Let’s talk about Riza Durmisi
Riza Durmisi was born in Ishøj, Denmark, on January 8, 1994. He is Danish from Albanian parents.
He joined the Brøndby (Copenhagen) youth sector at six years of age.
He was added to the first team squad in 2012. He played four seasons, making 107 appearances with 7 goals. The "Drengene fra Vestegnen" (Boys from West Periphery) finished 9th, 4th, 3rd and 4th.
In 2016 he joined Betis Sevilla and stayed two seasons. The Verdiblancos finished 15t and 6th (EL). His managers were Gustavo Poyet, Victor Sanchez, Alexis Trujillo and Angel Haro Garcia for the whole second season. Durmisi played 54 games with 3 goals.
In 2018 he moved to Rome and signed for Lazio. The manager was Simone Inzaghi and Lazio finished 8th but won the Coppa Italia. Durmisi only played 10 league games, 2 in Coppa Italia and 7 in the Europa League.
The following year, still under Inzaghi he did not feature at all and in January was loaned to Nice in the French Ligue 1. Lazio then finished 4th and qualified for the Champions League but without the Covid-19 lockdown could have challenged for the title.
In France Durmisi only played 4 league games and 1 in the Coupe de France, under manager Patrick Viera. The Eagles finished 5th.
In 2020 he returned to Lazio but again made no appearances and in January joined Salernitana in Serie B. In Salerno he made 5 league appearances, under manager Fabrizio Castori and the Granata were promoted to Serie A. There were several Lazio connections in the squad; André Anderson (2019-20, 2021-22, 2023 to present day), Sofian Kiyine (2020-21), Cristiano Lombardi (2016-17, 2018-19, 2021-22, 2023-24) and Guido Guerrieri (2012-20).
In 2021 he returned to Lazio. The manager was now Maurizio Sarri and Durmisi played no games before being loaned to Sparta Rotterdam in January.
In Holland he played 9 league games for the "Kasteelheren" (The Castlemen) and they finished 14th in the Eredivisie.
In 2022 he went back to Spain on loan and joined Leganés in the Segunda División. He stayed until January, playing 10 league games and 1 in the Copa del Rey. The "Pepineros" (The Cucumber Pickers) eventually finished 14th.
In January 2023 he stayed in Spain but went south to the Canary Islands and joined Tenerife on loan in Segunda División. He only played 1 league game and the Blanquiazules finished 10th.
Durmisi's contract with Lazio then ran out and he moved to Poland and played 11 league games for Łódzki Klub Sportowy (LKS) in the top flight.
He currently plays for Nea Salamis Ammochostou in the top flight in Cyprus.
Durmisi has represented Denmark at several age groups; U16s (7 games), U17s (27 games, 1 goal), U19s (15 games), U21s (9 games, 1 goal). He has won 23 caps for the main Denmark national team but has not played since 2018.
Durmisi is a left full-back but can also play in left midfield. His main strength is going forward as he has good speed and a decent left foot for crosses. He has however proved less effective defensively.
At Lazio he was not a success. He was a disappointment along with other signing Valon Berisha. Durmisi showed potential offensively but was weak when defending. He played a total of 19 matches for the Biancocelesti and was in the Coppa Italia winning squad of 2019, an unused substitute in the final won 2-0 against Atalanta.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League |
2018-19 | 19 | 10 | 2 | 7 |
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