FINALLY
Lazio defeat Milan in the league at San Siro after a long thirty years with goals by Immobile and Correa
Also on this day: November 3, 2011: Lazio FC Zurich 1-0, Europa League. Second half replacement Cristian Brocchi livens Lazio up and gives European hope. Player of the day: Giuseppe Sculli
The season so far
Lazio started the season trying to improve on the disappointing 8th place of the previous year. A year which had however ended on a triumphal note with the victory in the Coppa Italia final against Atalanta in May (2-0).
This season in had come Slovak defender Denis Vavro (F.C Copenhagen), Spanish winger Jony (Malaga), midfielder Manuel Lazzari (SPAL) plus young Dutch forward Bobby Adekanye (former Liverpool).
Lazio had bid farewell to well-serving Dušan Basta (retiring) and also to defenders Wallace (Braga) and Romulo (Genoa-end of loan) plus midfielder Milan Badelj (Fiorentina). In hindsight they had also made the mistake of letting promising young Portuguese Pedro Neto slip through their fingers, selling him to Wolves.
So far, in Serie A Lazio had played ten games and won 5, drawn 3 and lost 2. They came from two consecutive victories while in the game before those they had made an epic comeback at home to Atalanta from 0-3 to 3-3, a hopefully turning point moment in their season.
Lazio were currently joint 5th with Napoli and Cagliari on 18 points.
In the Europa League Lazio had played three and won 1 (Rennes 2-1 at home) and lost 2 (Cluj and Celtic both 1-2 away after being 1-0 up). Next up was Celtic at home on November 7.
This evening however, was Serie A but it was no ordinary league game, it was away to Milan. It was a fixture which had been jinxed for thirty years, since Lazio last won there in 1989. There had been mediocre Milan teams, the Sergio Cragnotti years and many good performances but for one reason or another never a win. There had been a few cup wins, but a league win had eluded them since that Paolo Maldini own goal all those years ago. Every year the Laziali went up with hope but every year the wait continued.
Milan had finished 5th the previous year. They were not however allowed to play in the Europa League for violating the financial fair play rules. The manager was Gennaro Gattuso and top scorer was Krzysztof Piątek with 11 goals (9 in A). Milan had drawn 1-1 away to Lazio and won 1-0 at home with a Kessie penalty.
This season initially the manager was Marco Giampaolo but he had been sacked after seven games and in came Stefano Pioli. Milan had signed some good players over the summer; defender Theo Hernandez (Real Madrid), midfielders Rade Krunic (Empoli), Ismaël Bennacer (Empoli) plus forwards Rafael Leão (Lille) and Ante Rebic (Eintracht Frankfurt-on loan).
Leaving were defender Ignazio Abate (retiring), Cristián Zapata (Genoa), midfielders Tiémoué Bakayoko (Chelsea-end of loan), Diego Laxalt (Torino-on loan), José Mauri (Talleres), Riccardo Montolivo (retiring) plus forward Patrick Cutrone (Wolves).
The beginning of the season was a nightmare for Milan. The Rossoneri lost 4 out of the first 6 games (including derby 0-2). They then won 2, drew 1 and lost 1. They were currently in joint 7th position with Parma on 13 points.
Lazio had been in this situation many times before in the last thirty years. Going up to Milan in a position of advantage against a team in difficulty but time and time again had failed to end the curse. Thirtieth time lucky?
The match: Sunday, November, 2019, Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan
The 40,000 crowd was the sign Milan were not going through their best period.
The hosts had everyone available apart from Suso while Lazio had no absences.
The first chance was for Lazio and it was a huge one. Luis Alberto waltzed through the Milan defence and after a one-two with Joaquín Correa he put a magical low ball behind the Milan defence on the left where Ciro Immobile pounced and curled a shot which came back off the crossbar.
Milan responded with a low long range shot by Samu Castillejo which Thomas Strakosha palmed into corner before it went inside the near post.
In the 25th minute Lazio took the lead. Luis Alberto sent Manuel Lazzari down the right flank where he put a rare but perfect cross which Immobile headed into the far corner. Milan 0 Lazio 1. It was also Immobile's 100th goal for the Biancocelesti.
Lazio were not given long to fantasise about ending curses and jinks as three minutes later the "diavolo" equalised. Theo Hernandez chipped a ball into the area from the left and Krzysztof Piontek stuck a foot up to it and it then came off Bastos' chest and gave Strakosha no chance. A fair dose of luck but there was a reason Lazio had not won here for three decades. Milan 1 Lazio 1.
In the 35th minute Milan lost Castillejo through injury and brought on Ante Rebic. Lazio had two chances with Correa but the "Tucu" was not lucid in front of goal. The first 45 minutes finished with the score still on 1-1.
There were no changes for the second half.
Milan had a chance early on with a Hakan Calhanoglu free kick, it was powerful but central and Strakosha slapped it away with both his hands together.
In the 53rd minute Leăo came on for Paquetá.
Lazio then had a double chance when, from a Luis Alberto corner, after a moment of confusion the ball fell to Francesco Acerbi who turned and shot but Gianluigi Donnarumma parried up into the air and then tipped it over the bar before Marco Parolo could head it over the goal line.
In the 60th minute Lazio made two substitutions, one was forced with an injured Immobile being replaced by Felipe Caicedo and the other was tactical with Marco Parolo coming on for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
The game was balanced with neither side getting the upper hand and it would take an episode or a moment of quality for it to change.
Fortunately, that moment came in the 83rd minute, a minute after Caicedo too had gone off injured and replaced by Danilo Cataldi, and it came for Lazio. Bastos hoofed the ball out of his area over the half way line where Léo Duarte beat Correa with the header but the ball fell to the "Mago" Luis Alberto and suddenly Milan were unbalanced, he ran forward and looked to his left but then with the outside of his boot he slid the ball through on the right to Correa who surged into the area and blasted thirty years of hurt past Donnarumma. Milan 1 Lazio 2.
Lazio then managed to fend off Milan's more desperate than dangerous attempts to rescue a point. Finally, after 30 years Lazio had beaten Milan in the league at San Siro or Giuseppe Meazza.
The game had been even and Lazio had played far better over the last winless 30 years but it felt good. The table also started to look healthier with Lazio up to joint 4th place with Atalanta and Cagliari on 21 points and in the Champions League zone.
On a personal note I was 21 when Lazio last won at San Siro against Milan and now I was 52. In 1989 the Berlin Wall was just coming down. At the time I was living in Istanbul and I only discovered the score in the morning from the colourful Turkish newspapers while now I watched it live on TV. I have a habit when Lazio win and that is to have a Norwegian aquavit after dinner. I think I might have had two that evening, you never know it might be another 30 years…
Who played for Milan
G. Donnarumma, Calabria, Duarte, Romagnoli, T. Hernandez, Paquetá (53' Leão), Bennacer, Krunic (85' Bonaventura), Castillejo (35' Rebic), Piatek, Calhanoglu
Substitutes: A. Donnarumma, Caldara, Gabbia, Conti, Rodriguez, Biglia, Kessié, Borini
Manager: Pioli
Who played for Lazio
Strakosha, Bastos, Acerbi, Radu, Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic (60' Parolo), Leiva, Luis Alberto, Lulic, Correa, Immobile (60' Caicedo, 82' Cataldi)
Manager: S. Inzaghi
Referee: Calvarese
Goals: 25' Immobile, 28' Bastos (og), 83' Correa
What happened next
Lazio then won 13 out of the next 15 games, the other 2 were draws (including derby). On December 7 the Biancocelesti also defeated league leaders Juventus 3-1 at home and officially joined the title race.
On December 22 Lazio again defeated Juventus 3-1 in Riyadh to lift the Italian Supercoppa.
In early March the Biancocelesti were still pushing Juventus for top spot in the league, only one point behind the leaders, when disaster struck, not only for Lazio but for the entire world. The outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic interrupted the league for 4 months. On Saturday February 29, 2020, Lazio beat Bologna 2-0 at the Olimpico and then didn't play again until 24 June.
The season restarted in empty stadiums but Lazio's magic had gone. The fact of having to play 3 matches a week was never going to work for Lazio's limited numbered squad. They had an almost perfectly oiled machine but only in 12-13 players, without strength in depth compared to rivals Juventus, Inter or even Atalanta. The fast and furious oncoming of games soon took its toll and Lazio faded and tired, ending up 4th. Top scorer was Ciro Immobile with 39 goals (36 in A).
This still meant a Champions League qualification after 13 years but Lazio will forever be left thinking about what could have been. Up until February Lazio had seemed unstoppable and gone from strength to strength while Juventus were winning games but not playing great football and often struggled. The general consensus was that Lazio were the best team that season and would have fought for the Scudetto until the end. Alas it was not to be and Lazio's dream was brutally shattered by global events.
In Europa League the Biancocelesti were eliminated in the group phase losing another two games (Celtic 1-2 at home again after leading and Rennes 0-2 away) and winning one (Cluj 1-0 at home).
In Coppa Italia Lazio went out to Napoli 0-1 away in the quarter finals.
It was in Serie A that Lazio will have eternal regrets.
Milan finished 6th and qualified for the Europa League. In January Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned and this helped them improve. In the end the Rossoneri won 19 (including Lazio 3-0 and Juventus 4-2), drew 9 and lost 10 (including derby 2-4). In Coppa Italia they reached the semi-finals but lost to Juventus on away goals. Top scorer was Ante Rebić with 12 goals (11 in A).
With Juventus champions the other verdicts were Serie B for SPAL, Brescia and Lecce. Only Lecce have since made it back.
Lazio 2019-2020
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 38 | 24 | 6 | 8 | 79 |
Coppa Italia | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 4 |
Europa League | 6 | 2 | - | 4 | 6 |
Super Coppa | 1 | 1 | - | - | 3 |
Total | 47 | 28 | 6 | 13 | 92 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Super Coppa |
45 | 36 | 2 | 6 | 1 | |
44 | 37 | 2 | 4 | 1 | |
44 | 38 | 1 | 4 | 1 | |
43 | 37 | 1 | 4 | 1 | |
41 | 36 | - | 4 | 1 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Super Coppa |
Ciro Immobile | 39 | 36 | 1 | 2 | - |
10 | 9 | - | 1 | - | |
9 | 9 | - | - | - | |
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic | 8 | 7 | - | 1 | - |
Luis Alberto | 7 | 6 | - | - | 1 |
Let's talk about Guido Guerrieri
Guido Guerrieri was born in Rome on February 25, 1996.
He spent all his youth career at Lazio. He won a Primavera Scudetto (2013), the Coppa Italia twice (2014, 2015) and a Supercoppa (2014) under Simone Inzaghi.
In 2012 he joined the first team squad briefly and was third keeper for Lazio's Europa League debut against Mura 05 from Slovenia.
From 2016 he joined the first team squad for the pre-season training.
In 2016-17 he went to Trapani on loan for a season. The Granata (Maroons) from west Sicily were in Serie B and ended up relegated. They had three managers: Serse Cosmi (until Nov 28), Valeriano Recchi (until Dec 2) and then Lazio hero Alessandro Calori. Guerrieri played 17 league games.
He then returned to Lazio as third keeper until 2020. On May 20, 2019 he made his league debut in a 3-3 home draw to Bologna. In this period Lazio won a Coppa Italia (Atalanta 2-0 in 2019) and two Supercoppe (Juventus 3-2 in 2017 and Juventus again 3-1 in 2019.
On September 1 2020 he joined Salernitana in Serie B. The Granata won promotion but Guerrieri made no appearances and in February 2022 his contract was terminated by mutual consent.
He then immediately joined Tsarsko Selo from Sofia in the Bulgarian top flight. He only played 2 league games. At the end of the season the "Tsars" were relegated and were disbanded.
In 2022-23 Guerrieri spent a season with Sambenedettese in Serie D. The Rossoblu finished 7th and Guerrieri played 14 league games.
In 2023-24 he played for Fano in Serie D. The Granata finished 16th and relegated but Guerrieri only played 3 league games.
In 2024 -25 he is currently still with the Eagles from Fano.
So, a born and bred Laziale who did well at youth level and was then Lazio's third keeper for several years but who has since struggled to impose himself at high levels.
Lazio Career
Season | Serie A Appearances |
2018-19 | 1 |
Sources
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