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Two Sergej Milinkovic-Savic second half goals give Lazio important win on Côte d'Azur
Also on this day: October 19, 1999: Maribor Lazio 0-4, Champions League. A superb Mihajlovic freekick opens gates to comfortable 4-0 victory. Lazio Hero of the day: Dejan Stanković
The season so far
Lazio had finished 5th (EL) the previous season under Simone Inzaghi. The Biancocelesti had lost the first derby but triumphed 3-1 in the second. Other good results were Atalanta 4-3, Pescara 6-2 both away and Sampdoria 7-3 and Palermo 6-2, both at home. Lazio had also reached the Coppa Italia final beating Roma in the semi-final 4-3 on aggregate but then lost to Juventus 0-2. Top scorer was Ciro Immobile with 26 goals (23 in A).
This season Inzaghi was still manager but there had been quite a few changes to the squad. The main new arrivals were: defenders Luiz Felipe (Salernitana-end of loan), Adam Marušić (Oostende), midfielders Davide Di Gennaro (free agent), Lucas Leiva (Liverpool), Nani (Valencia-on loan with option to buy), forwards Felipe Caicedo (Espanyol) and Pedro Neto (Braga-two-year loan with obligation to buy). In the January market Lazio would also add Uruguayan defender Martin Caceres (Verona).
Leaving amongst others were: defender Wesley Hoedt (Southampton), midfielders Lucas Biglia (Milan), Danilo Cataldi (Benevento -on loan) and forward Keita Baldé (Monaco).
The season had started in fantastic style. On August 13, Lazio had defeated Juventus 3-2 to win the Supercoppa Italiana. Lazio went 2-0 up with two Immobile goals but Paulo Dybala responded with a late brace of his own before Alessandro Murgia got Lazio’s winner in the 93rd minute. Lazio lifted their 4th Supercoppa.
In Serie A the Biancocelesti had played 8 games and won 6 (including Milan 4-1 and Sassuolo 6-1 both at home), drawn 1 (SPAL 0-0 at home on debut) and lost 1 (Napoli 1-4 at home). Lazio's most recent game had been an epic 2-1 away win at Juventus with Thomas Strakosha saving a Dybala 94th minute penalty. Lazio were currently joint 3rd with Juventus on 19 points.
In today's competition, the Europa League, Lazio had played 2 and won 2 (Vitesse 3-2 away and Zulte Waregem 2-0 at home).
A confident and in form Lazio went up to the Côte d'Azur for this European game.
Nice had finished 3rd in Ligue 1 (CL preliminaries) the previous season, under Swiss manager Lucien Favre. Top scorer was Italian Mario Balotelli with 17 goals (15 in league).
This season Favre was still in charge. The Red and Black Eagles had been busy on the transfer market. Arriving were: defenders Racine Coly (Brescia), Christophe Jallet (free agent-OL), Marlon (Barcelona - on loan), midfielders Pierre Lees-Melou (Dijon), Nampalys Mendy (Leicester - on loan), Wesley Sneijder (free agent-Galatasaray), Adrien Tameze (Valenciennes) and forward Allan Saint-Maximin (Monaco).
Leaving were: defenders Paul Baysse (end of contract - Malaga), Dalbert (Inter), Ricardo Pereira (Porto - end of two-year loan), Younes Belhanda (end of loan with Dynamo Kyiv and now joining Galatasaray), Valentin Eysseric (Fiorentina) plus forward Anastasios Donis (end of loan from Juventus and now joining Stuttgart).
Nice had started their league on August 5 and had so far played 9 games. The Eagles had won 3, drawn 1 and lost 5. Their most recent match had been a 0-2 defeat at Montpellier. L'OGCN were in 14th place. Not a great start domestically.
In Europe Nice had won their first Champions League preliminary round, Ajax on away goals 2-2 on aggregate. They had then however lost to Napoli 0-4 on aggregate and were demoted to the Europa League.
In the Europa League, like Lazio they had won their first two matches (Zulte Waregem 5-1 away and Vitesse 3-0 at home).
Tonight's clash was a battle to take control of the group, and already put a foot in the next round.
The match: Thursday, October 19, 2017, Stade de Nice (Allianz Riviera), Nice
A crowd of about 20,000 gathered at the Allianz Riviera.
Both sides made several changes compared to their recent league games. Nice left out Jean Seri and Allan Saint-Maximin all together while Alassane Pléa was on the bench. Lazio changed six players compared to the win in Turin with Stefan de Vrij, Lucas Leiva, Luis Alberto and Ciro Immobile all on the bench. The Biancocelesti did have 7 games in 23 days.
Nice started well and scored almost immediately. In the 4th minute Wesley Sneijder was left free to cross from the left by Bastos and Patric and Luiz Felipe was then overpowered by Mario Balotelli who headed in for Nice. A shock start and Nice 1 Lazio 0.
Fortunately for Lazio they equalised within a minute. In the 5th minute, on a long ball out of defence by Luiz Felipe, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic headed on into the area where Dante shielded the ball waiting for the keeper to claim it but they hesitated too long and Felipe Caicedo got in between them and the ball ricocheted off the Ecuadorian and Yoan Cardinale and ended up in the net. An awful defensive blunder but Caicedo had done well not to give up. Nice 1 Lazio 1.
Lazio then had shots by Davide Di Gennaro over the bar in the 12th minute and a more dangerous one by Patric just wide in the 19th.
In the 35th Lazio had an even bigger chance to take the lead. On a Nani long range shot Cardinale was hesitant again and was unable to block the ball which reached Stefan Radu but the Romanian's close-range strike went high. Half time came with the score still level, 1-1.
Nice had more territorial domination and possession (70-30%) but Lazio gave the impression that when they did attack they were more dangerous.
There were no changes at the break. There was a scare for Lazio early on when in the 48th minute Thomas Strakosha dived low and gathered the ball with his hands right on the edge of the box but then, either just dropping it or releasing it intentionally fearing his impetus would carry him out of the area, he lost it and Balotelli had an open goal but from an angle and his shot sailed wide. Huge chance.
In the 59th minute Inzaghi decided it was time to put a few big guns on. Luis Alberto replaced Di Gennaro and Ciro Immobile came on for Nani.
The move was soon rewarded. In the 65th minute Lazio pressed high and won the ball back which Radu played in to Caicedo on the left by-line inside the area, the Ecuadorian pulled back a perfect low pass to Milinkovic-Savic who with the inside of his foot beat Cardinale. Nice 1 Lazio 2.
A few minutes later in the 69th minute Luis Alberto and Immobile combined well but this time Cardinale was safe on Ciro's cross goal effort.
Nice's reaction was mainly in long distance efforts by Balotelli. In the 71st minute Pléa came on for Pierre Lees-Melou and in the 75th Lazio buttoned up by bringing on Lucas Leiva for Caicedo.
In the 81st minute Plea had a low shot from just inside the area but it was too central and Strakosha saved and then gathered.
In the 88th minute Nice made another change, throwing on midfielder Bassem Srarfi for defender Christophe Jallet.
A minute later however, Lazio closed out the game. On a Luis Alberto corner from the left, Milinkovic-Savic was the quickest to get to the ball on the front post and headed in. Nice 1 Lazio 3 and final score.
A good win for Lazio who had struck in the right moments. The Biancocelesti had sat back for large parts of the game and intentionally left the initiative to the hosts but when they accelerated they exposed the French defence’s frailties. Dante in particular had a bad night and Cardinale was far from safe.
Lazio now had 9 points and topped the group. In two weeks’ time on November 2 Lazio would play Nice in Rome and have the chance to definitely kill off the group.
Who played for Nice
Cardinale, Marlon, Dante, Le Marchand, Burner, Lees-Melou (71' Plea), Mendy, Walter, Jallet (88' Srarfi), Sneijder, Balotelli
Substitutes: Benitez, Saar, Souquet, Koziello, Lusamba
Manager: Favre
Who played for Lazio
Strakosha, Bastos, Luiz Felipe, Radu, Patric, Murgia, Di Gennaro (59' Luis Alberto), Milinkovic-Savic, Lulic, Nani (59' Immobile), Caicedo (75' Leiva)
Manager: Inzaghi
Referee: Thomson (Scotland)
Goals: 4' Balotelli, 5' Caicedo, 65' Milinkovic-Savic, 89' Milinkovic-Savic
What happened next
In the Europa League, Lazio qualified for the Round of 32 to be played in February. The Biancocelesti beat Nice 1-0 in Rome and then drew one (Vitesse 1-1 at home) and lost 1 (Zulte Waregem 2-3 away in the last match). Lazio topped the group and then played FCSB (Bucharest), winning 5-2 on aggregate. Then came Dynamo Kyiv, defeated 4-2 on aggregate. In the quarter finals Lazio played Austrians Salzburg. The Biancocelesti won 4-2 at home but then threw away the qualification in the return leg, losing 4-1 after leading 1-0 and conceding three goals in five suicidal and hellish minutes between the 72nd and the 76th.
In Serie A Lazio fought for the 4th place and last Champions League slot until the end. After today's European game they beat Cagliari 3-0 at home and then won the next three. They went through a bad patch in late January-early February losing three in a row but then picked and won 7 out of the next 12 while the derby ended 0-0. They went into the penultimate game away at Crotone in 4th place knowing a win would clinch Champions League but they only drew 2-2. The last match was against Inter at home and Lazio needed a draw to clinch the Champions League but they lost 2-3 in the dying minutes after leading 2-1. A lost opportunity and bitterly disappointing.
There was also a lot of controversy in this last match as Lazio defender de Vrij had already announced he would be playing for Inter the following season and it was he who gave away the penalty which let Inter back into the game. He would play in the Champions League while Lazio would play in the Europa League again…
In Coppa Italia, Lazio knocked out Cittadella 4-1 and Fiorentina 1-0 but then went out against Milan in the semi-final on penalties after two nil-nil draws.
So, all in all a disappointing season for Lazio but with the satisfaction of lifting another trophy (Supercoppa 2017).
Nice then lost 0-1 in Rome, beat Zulte Waregem 3-1 at home and lost to Vitesse 0-1 away. The French outfit qualified for the round of 32 in second place with 9 points. They then played Lokomotiv Moscow and lost 2-4 on aggregate.
In Ligue 1 Nice finished 8th. Top scorer was Mario Balotelli with 26 goals (18 in league).
In Italy the Scudetto was won by Juventus for their 34th title and 7th in a row while the Europa League was won by Atlético Madrid who beat Olympique Marseille 3-0 in the final in Lyon.
Lazio 2017-18
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 38 | 21 | 9 | 8 | 89 |
Coppa Italia | 4 | 2 | 2 | - | 5 |
Europa League | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 26 |
Super Coppa | 1 | 1 | - | - | 3 |
Total | 55 | 31 | 13 | 11 | 123 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Super Coppa |
Strakosha | 53 | 38 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
Leiva | 50 | 36 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
Lulic | 50 | 35 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
Milinkovic-Savic | 48 | 35 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
de Vrij | 47 | 36 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
Immobile | 47 | 33 | 4 | 9 | 2 |
Luis Alberto | 47 | 34 | 3 | 9 | 1 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Super Coppa |
Immobile | 41 | 29 | 2 | 8 | 2 |
Milinkovic-Savic | 14 | 12 | - | 2 | - |
Luis Alberto | 12 | 11 | - | 1 | - |
Felipe Anderson | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | - |
de Vrij | 7 | 6 | - | 1 | - |
Let's talk about Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, the sergeant as the Lazio fans call him, is probably one of the greatest midfielders Lazio have ever had. Even though he is a big man, 1.91 for 82 kilos, he is not slow. He is extremely powerful but also skilful and has great timing which allows him to be prolific for a midfielder.
He was born on February 25 1995 in Lleida, Spain where his father Nikola was playing. He holds both a Spanish and Serbian passport. He comes from a sporty family; his father played football, his mother basketball and his brother Vanja is also a professional footballer and plays as goalkeeper for Torino and Serbia.
He started his career with the youth teams of Vojvodina and played his first professional game on November 23rd 2013 and at the end of the season he won his first trophy: the Serbian Cup.
Even though he did not play much in his first year as pro, he was noticed by Belgian club Genk and in 2014 he began to play in the Belgian first division. Igli Tare’s scouts saw something in this player and a year later he signed for Lazio. It was not an easy signing. Tare had an agreement with his agent but Sergej’s father had one with Fiorentina. The player had given his word to Lazio but Fiorentina insisted and he left for Florence to sign the contract. At the moment of the signature, Milinkovic-Savic backed away. He had set his heart on playing for Lazio, promised to sign for Lazio and wanted only Lazio. He joined Lazio.
So, the Sergeant was with us from 2015, his first appearance came in the Champions League qualification play off against Bayern Leverkusen on August 18. His first goal against Dnipro in Europa League on September 17. He scored the opening goal in the Coppa Italia final against Atalanta in 2019.
Milinkovic -Savic had a great nine years at Lazio. His managers were first Stefano Pioli, then Simone Inzaghi for five full seasons and finally Maurizio Sarri for the last two. The highlights were obviously the trophies but also the 2019-20 season in which Lazio looked on target to win the Scudetto before Covid-19 hit and the 2022-23 season in which Lazio finished 2nd. He also scored three goals in the derbies plus three assists.
He played 341 games for Lazio (267 in Serie A, 23 in Coppa Italia, 11 in Champions League, 41 in Europa League and two Super Coppa finals), scored 69 goals (57 in Serie A, 5 in Coppa Italia and 7 in Europa League) and won three trophies (2 Super Coppas and a Coppa Italia). He is the top foreign goal scorer in Lazio history. He is also 7th in Lazio history for number of total appearances.
Milinkovic-Savic has played 54 times for Serbia and scored 9 goals. He has played in two World Cups, 2018 and 2022 (where he scored one goal), but Serbia have never gone past the group round and one European Championship, the recent Euro 2024 in which both Milinkovic-Savic and Serbia disappointed.
He delighted fans ever since he came to Lazio, as well as the media. Every year since his arrival, and many times throughout the years, the Italian journalists spread rumours that Lazio were going to sell him. They resisted and resisted but finally did in the summer of 2023.
He joined Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia. The Sharks won the league ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr. SMS played 30 league games and scored 11 goals.
Lazio will never forget Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and most fans dream he will return one day.
Lazio Career
Season | Total played (Goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Europa League | Conference League | Super Coppa |
2015-16 | 35 (3) | 25 (1) | 2 | 1 | 7 (2) | - | - |
2016-17 | 39 (7) | 34 (4) | 5 (3) | - | - | - | - |
2017-18 | 48 (14) | 35 (12) | 4 | - | 8 (2) | - | 1 |
2018-19 | 41 (7) | 31 (5) | 5 (2) | - | 5 | - | - |
2019-20 | 43 (8) | 37 (7) | 1 | - | 4 (1) | - | 1 |
2020-21 | 41 (8) | 32 (8) | 2 | 7 | - | - | - |
2021-22 | 47 (11) | 37 (11) | 2 | - | 8 | - | - |
2022-23 | 47 (11) | 36 (9) | 2 | - | 6 (2) | 3 | |
Total | 341 (69) | 267 (57) | 23 (5) | 8 | 38 (7) | 3 | 2 |
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