Game 30, Serie A
Sunday, April 11, 2021
Stadio Bentegodi, Verona
Verona Lazio 0-1
An injury time goal in the "Caicedo zone" by the big Serb gives Lazio late win
This season, Lazio were not the almost perfect machine they had been up until lockdown, but they were now showing signs of improvement. They came into this match in 6th position, five points off 4th placed Atalanta in the last Champions League position, and three consecutive wins. The last was a 2-1 home win against Spezia.
The match
A grey afternoon and no spectators was the usual depressing sight of the period.
Simone Inzaghi had stayed in Rome struck down with Covid -19 himself. Lazio were also without Manuel Lazzari and Joaquín Correa.
The home side meanwhile were missing defender Matteo Lovato but had more or less their best team out.
The first real chance fell to Lazio. In the 4th minute a Mohamed Fares cross from the left was flicked on by a Lucas Leiva header and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic then volleyed a right foot that shaved the post.
Ciro Immobile then went extremely close when his long range, cross goal shot came back off the post.
Verona responded in the 35th minute with a good through ball by Federico Dimarco which found Darko Lazovic inside the area on the right but his low curling shot on the far post did not turn enough and went about a metre wide. Half time Verona 0 Lazio 0.
A blocked game so far with few goal scoring opportunities. Verona proved very able at blocking Lazio’s initiatives. Dimarco followed Milinkovic-Savic everywhere and Miguel Veloso played very deep in protection of the defence. The Gialloblu however did not often manage to be dangerous themselves.
The second half started with what could have been the goal of the season. Felipe Caicedo received the ball with his back to the goal about 35 metres out, he turned, beat two opponents and burst towards the area where he went past another defender and with a low right foot beat Marco Silvestri. A fantastic goal but VAR called the referee, who went to the monitor to have a check, and he saw an irregularly high elbow by the Ecuadorian when he was sprinting away from Giangiacomo Magnani towards the area. He also got booked, a real pity also because he would now miss the next game.
Lazio attacked more, Fares had a shot over the bar and Immobile could have done better on a few potential chances but in general it was difficult to break Verona down.
Both sides made all five substitutions over the last twenty minutes or so but the game looked to be heading for a goalless draw.
Lazio however still pushed forward. In the second minute of injury time Stefan Radu pumped yet another hopeful high cross into the hosts' area but this time Milinkovic-Savic rose higher than the defenders and headed into the left corner. The "sergeant's" seventh goal of the season gave Lazio the three points and their fourth consecutive win. Verona 0 Lazio 1.
Not a vintage performance by Lazio but they had tried harder to win the game than Verona and had been rewarded in the dying seconds.
The Biancocelesti's position in the table did not change as the top eight teams all won.
Verona meanwhile dropped to 9th, overtaken by Sassuolo.
Who played for Verona
Silvestri, Dawidowicz, Magnani, Dimarco (76' Ceccherini), Faraoni, Miguel Veloso (68' Ilic), Sturaro, Lazovic, Barak (85' Salcedo), Zaccagni (76' Bessa), Lasagna (86' Kalinic)
Substitutes: Berardi, Pandur, Ruegg, Gunter, Udogie, Tameze, Colley
Manager: Juric (Paro on bench today)
Who played for Lazio
Reina, Marusic, Acerbi, Radu, Akpa Akpro (83' Parolo), Milinkovic-Savic, Leiva (83' Escalante), Luis Alberto (75' Pereira), Fares (75' Lulic), Immobile, Caicedo (68' Muriqi)
Manager: S. Inzaghi (Farris on bench today)
Referee: Chiffi
Goals: 92' Milinkovic-Savic
Sources
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