Lazio gained a solitary Serie A lead for the first time in 20 years as they dispatched of Bologna with goals by Luis Alberto and Joaquín Correa. The last time the Biancocelesti were standing alone at the top of the table was on May 14, 2000 – the day they conquered their last Scudetto.
As they wait for Inter and Juventus to play their catch-up games, Simone Inzaghi and his boys grabbed the three points in their weekly Serie A test with a stunning start which earned them a double lead. Lazio eventually suffered Bologna’s comeback attempts in the second half as the Emiliani saw two goals disallowed by the VAR and collected multiple scoring chances. Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side, however, didn’t manage to move the score.
Simone Inzaghi couldn’t count on injured Francesco Acerbi, Senad Lulic, and Adam Marusic. The Laziale coach thus deployed Luiz Felipe in defense, and placed Manuel Lazzari and Jony Rodriguez on the two midfield sides. Joaquín Correa replaced Felipe Caicedo on the front line, alongside campionato top-scorer Ciro Immobile.
Sinisa Mihajlovic, on the other hand, managed to recover seven starters who had missed last week’s game against Udinese, including goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski, defender Stefano Denswil, as well as midfielders Roberto Soriano and Jerdy Schouten. The Serbian coach received a touching celebration from Lazio fans, who remembered the days when Sinisa used to be a hero for the Stadio Olimpico North Stands supporters.
Lazio hit the gas from the very first minutes, wasting two favorable chances with Joaquín Correa and Luis Alberto. In the 12th minute, Ciro Immobile narrowly missed the target with a sharp shot from Luis Alberto’s assist.
Such an aggressive start eventually paid off as Inzaghi’s side broke the balance in the 18th minute. Immobile exchanged with Correa, who served Luis Alberto just outside the box. The Spaniard’s right-foot shot earned him his first goal in 2020.
Bologna could have gained a fast equalizer, but Lazio’s Thomas Strakosha stopped Roberto Soriano’s dangerous shot from point-blank range. The Biancocelesti breathed a sigh of relief, then promptly made scored the second three minutes later as Luis Alberto’s curl shot from the right found a deflection by Brazilian defender Danilo.
The Rossoblu’s reaction produced multiple shots by Musa Barrow and especially Riccardo Orsolini. Bologna closed the first half attacking but didn’t manage to cash anything.
The second half opened with Riccardo Orsolini testing again Thomas Stakosha’s reflexes, with the Albanian goalkeeper promptly defusing the menace. Then, seven minutes after the re-start, Stefano Denswil saw his goal disallowed by referee Rosario Abisso on grounds of a handball.
Sinisa Mihajlovic switched to a more offensive lineup replacing Orsolini and Schouten with Federico Santander and Nicola Sansone. Simone Inzaghi answered with Marco Parolo, who took Luis Alberto’s place immediately after.
In the 62nd minute, Ciro Immobile tried to increase his astounding seasonal scoring tally with a chip, but he missed the target. Bologna scored again, this time with Japanese defender Takehiro Tomiyasu, and once again saw their joy canceled as Rodrigo Palacio was ruled offside.
Strakosha saved on Palacio, then Lukasz Skorupski blocked a long-range shot by Ciro Immobile. Bologna, however, kept attacking more than the Biancocelesti – which saw bad things coming and thus decided to focus on ball possession during the final stages of the game.
Lazio ended the match at the Stadio Olimpico exhausted, but with three more points in their pockets, and a beautiful view from the top of the table over the remaining 19 Serie A clubs. At least for the moment.
MATCH REPORT
February 29, 2020 – Serie A 2019-2020 Round 25
LAZIO-BOLOGNA 2-0
SCORERS: 8′ Luis Alberto, 21′ Correa
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LAZIO (3-5-2): Strakosha; Patric, Luiz Felipe, Radu; Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic, Leiva, Luis Alberto (61′ Parolo), Jony; Correa (74′ Cataldi), Immobile (83′ Caicedo) (Proto, Guerrieri, Lukaku, Silva, Bastos, Vavro, A. Anderson, D. Anderson, Adekanye) Coach: Inzaghi |
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BOLOGNA (4-3-3): Skorupski; Tomiyasu, Danilo (71′ Skov Olsen), Bani, Denswil; Poli, Schouten (58′ Sansone), Soriano; Orsolini (59′ Santander), Palacio, Barrow (Da Costa, Sarr, Corbo, Dominguez, Medel, Baldursson, Juwara) Coach: Mihajlovic |
REFEREE: Mr. Abisso from Palermo
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Radu (L), Bani, Schouten, Danilo, Santander (B; Extra Time: 1st Half 1′, 2nd Half 5′