Felipe Caicedo Again! Lazio Snatch Last Minute Draw to Juventus

Italian Football, Juventus, Lazio, Serie A, Serie A 2020-2021 4 comments

The question one might be rightly asking is why Felipe Caicedo is not a starter for Lazio. The Ecuadorian came from the bench for the third time in a row, and for the third time saved the day for the Biancocelesti – but did it with style today, drawing level for Lazio from the very last chance as Simone Inzaghi’s side held Juventus to a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico in Serie A Round 7.

Caicedo’s late effort completely changed the outcome of a game that had seen Andrea Pirlo enjoying his most convincing and Juventus-like performance so far, with the Bianconeri securing an early lead with Cristiano Ronaldo and then controlling the game without conceding any real scoring chance to the opposition.

It seemed like an old-school Juventus: Cynical, concrete, and dominating. And, of course, with the added value of Cristiano Ronaldo. But, in retrospect, Pirlo made the mistake of not trying to score a second goal to wrap the game earlier and fatally exposed themselves to the potential, devastating effect of a single episode – something that can always happen.

Lazio thus confirmed to be a sort of nemesis for the Bianconeri these past few years: Simone Inzaghi managed to beat Juventus twice out of three encounters last season but went into today’s game with a few headaches to deal with, including an Italian Court investigating Lazio’s “creative” handling of their COVID-positive players – with Ciro Immobile, Thomas Strakosha, and Lucas Leiva all lined-up one week ago against Torino despite eventually testing still positive from additional checks.

None of them could play today, so the coach confirmed in Joaquin Correa and Vedat Muriqi the striking pair that had snatched one point in St. Petersburg during Lazio’s mid-week Champions League test. Felipe Caicedo was left on the bench despite having scored against both Torino and Zenit. Luiz Felipe and Stefan Radu came back to support Francesco Acerbi in defense, whereas Danilo Cataldi retook a spot in the midfield.

Andrea Pirlo couldn’t count on injured Federico Chiesa and Giorgio Chiellini. Merih Demiral replaced the seasoned defender, while Gianluca Frabotta and Juan Cuadrado were deployed on the two sides of the midfield. Pirlo confirmed Cristiano Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata on the front-line, adding Dejan Kulusevski on the right-wing position. Paulo Dybala once again started from the bench.

After 15 minutes, Juventus took themselves ahead. It was – guess who? – Cristiano Ronaldo to set the Bianconeri off to a good start as he exchanged the ball with Juan Cuadrado and found himself ready to tap the ball in when the Colombian served him back from the right side.

Three minutes later, Joaquin Correa could shot from a favorable position but sent the ball crashing into the Stadio Olimpico empty stands. Despite the initial shock, Lazio were alive and kicking: Sergej Milinkovic Savic whipped the ball into the Bianconeri‘s box, Correa headed it for Vedat Muriqi on the far post but the Kosovar failed an acrobatic conversion from point-blank range.

The next test for Wojciech Szczesny came again from Joaquin Correa but the Polish goalkeeper dealt with it comfortably. Juventus seemed to be ok with the one-goal lead and left the initiative to the Biancocelesti.

When they did attack, however, the Bianconeri always gave the impression they could be dangerous: In the 36th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo led a fast break and concluded with a long-range shot that ended out the target where he could have served some of his teammates. Then, he hit the crossbar with a right-foot curl. It was a one-man show.

Just before the break, Danilo Cataldi crippled Dejan Kulusevski on the edge of Lazio’s box. You-know-who stepped up to the free-kick spot and rocketed the ball towards Pepe Reina, who had to work hard to parry it back and keep the score unchanged.

There was a triple substitution for Inzaghi a few minutes into the second half: The coach sent in Wesley Hoedt, Manuel Lazzari, and Felipe Caicedo. But Juventus continued to control the match tempo and be lethal from counterattacks. Adrien Rabiot recovered the ball from Luis Alberto and launched a fast break that he himself finalized with a tricky shot, testing once again Pepe Reina’s gloves. Ronaldo tried to shot from the same position a few minutes later but found Luiz Felipe’s providential opposition.

…and Lazio? Joaquin Correa was the most dangerous man: In the 69th minute, he escaped from Merih Demiral’s marking to penetrate the white-and-black’s area but crashed into Leonardo Bonucci’s wall. He then forced Rabiot to push him down on the edge of the box and gained a free-kick from a favorable position – though nothing would come out of it.

In the 75th minute, it was time for Paulo Dybala. Pirlo sent him in in place of CR7, alongside with Weston McKennie who replaced Dejan Kulusevski – further proving that Juventus’ young coach seemed happy with controlling the one-goal lead. La Joya wouldn’t have any chance to show what he’s made of, however, as the game seemed to slowly progress towards the end with no further chances from either side.

Until the very last minute: Joaquin Correa – who deserves much credit for his combative performance – won another tackle in the box and served his striking partner Felipe Caicedo, who managed to turn and whip the ball past Wojciech Szczesny with a deadly right-foot effort.

So long for the story of Juventus being cynical and mature. This was a game the Bianconeri should have closed earlier.

 

MATCH REPORT

November 8, 2020 – Serie A 2020-2021 Round 7
LAZIO-JUVENTUS 1-1

SCORERS: 15′ Cristiano Ronaldo (J), 94′ Caicedo (L)

LAZIO (3-5-2): Reina; Luiz Felipe, Acerbi, Radu (53′ Hoedt); Marusic, Milinkovic Savic, Cataldi (76′ Akpa Akpro), Luis Alberto (76′ Pereira), Fares (53′ Lazzari); Correa, Muriqi (53′ Caicedo) (Alia, Furlanetto, Armini, D. Anderson, Patric, Parolo, Moro) Coach: S. Inzaghi
JUVENTUS (3-4-3): Szczesny; Demiral, Bonucci, Danilo; Cuadrado, Bentancur, Rabiot, Frabotta; Kulusevski (75′ McKennie), Morata (88′ Bernardeschi), Cristiano Ronaldo (75′ Dybala) (Buffon, Pinsoglio, Dragusin, Portanova, Arthur) Coach: Pirlo

REFEREE: Mr. Massa from Imperia
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Cataldi (L), Bentancur (J); Extra Time: 1st Half 1′, 2nd Half 4′

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