Lazio continued their strong start to the season against Spezia, winning 6-1 on the back of a Ciro Immobile hat trick. The favorites dominated nearly every moment of the match, leaving no doubt what the result would be.
Despite their opponents scoring just moments after kickoff, the Roman side controlled possession for large portions of the match and overwhelmed Spezia’s toothless defense. The visitors did not have an answer for Lazio’s talented forwards and midfielders, who found substantial space when attacking.
Maurizio Sarri’s side began the match in a 4-3-3, headlined by the formidable attacking trio of Felipe Anderson, Ciro Immobile and Pedro.
The inexperienced Thiago Motta countered with an offensive formation of his own, deploying a 3-4-3 that promised to stretch the pitch, though striker M’Bala Nzola was notably absent.
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— S.S.Lazio (@OfficialSSLazio) August 28, 2021
In the fourth minute, Spezia opened the scoring when Emmanuel Gyasi’s shot was deflected by Pepe Reina directly into the path of Daniele Verde. The former Roma man scored an easy tap-in from three yards out, stunning the supporters at Stadio Olimpico.
However, Lazio did not wait to respond. Less than 60 seconds later, Pedro released Immobile on a counter-attack, and the striker chipped Jeroen Zoet to bring the home side level.
After a dominating spell of possession, Immobile struck again. A brilliant one-touch pass from Luis Alberto found the striker with space outside the box, and he pulled the trigger, firing a low shot past Zoet.
The Biancocelesti lost a key player midway through the first half when wing-back Manuel Lazzari was taken off with a leg injury and was replaced by Adam Marusic.
Lazio continued to push for another goal, with Anderson finding Pedro unmarked in the box. The Spaniard was unable to capitalize on his brilliant run however, as Zoet made a quality close-range save.
Just moments before halftime, Spezia’s fortunes turned worse. Zoet saved a VAR-determined penalty kick from Immobile, but the ensuing corner kick from Luis Alberto saw the striker complete the first-half hat trick.
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? Scendiamo in campo così ??
Powered by ?? @eToro pic.twitter.com/aQClcI08H3
— Spezia Calcio (@acspezia) August 28, 2021
The scoring continued into the second half, when Anderson chipped the ball over Spezia defender Kelvin Amian. The Brazilian winger went one-on-one against Zoet and came out the winner, putting his side up by three goals.
Another long ball to Anderson saw the Brazilian once again get the better of Amian. The defender dragged down Anderson from behind, resulting in an immediate red card for denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
Down to ten men, Spezia dropped deep and conceded possession to the hosts. They allowed a fifth goal when Elseid Hysaj found space on the backline. The Albanian, coming forward from the wing, made a deadly diagonal run and scored with almost no opposition.
Luis Alberto then capped off his fine day by scoring Lazio’s sixth and final goal. The midfielder assertively took the ball at the edge of the box and fired it into the bottom corner of the goal, confirming the result that was never really in doubt.
A hat trick of goals and assists for Immobile and Luis Alberto as Lazio THRASH Spezia ??
Magnificent ? pic.twitter.com/AqWk0nZdIk
— Italian Football TV (@IFTVofficial) August 28, 2021
With nine goals in two matches, Lazio have shown that losing Joaquin Correa should not disrupt the club’s attacking prowess. Sarri’s reputation as a offensive mind has quickly been confirmed, and Lazio should be considered a legitimate Scudetto contender moving forward.
With the international break quickly approaching, Spezia will need to reset before an upcoming match against Udinese. Lazio’s time off will be spent preparing for a major clash with Milan at the San Siro.