Luis Alberto Strike Sends Lazio into Top Four After Sampdoria Win

In Round 23 of Serie A, Lazio welcomed Sampdoria at the Stadio Olimpico as Simone Inzaghi’s men were looking to bounce back after a disappointing 1-3 defeat to Inter last weekend, which ended their six-game winning run in the Serie A.

Although it was not the prettiest of wins, Lazio did come away 1-0 winners thanks to a brilliant strike from Luis Alberto, who has scored his seventh goal of this Serie A campaign.

Predictably, Lazio had a stronger start to the game of the two teams, looking to threaten Sampdoria with sharp interplay down the right-hand side. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Adam Marušic were often at the forefront of action down that side as they were both trying to find the two strikers in Ciro Immobile and Joaquin Correa with low passes into feet. However, it did not result in any dangerous plays inside the penalty box, with Sampdoria’s defenders quick to intercept the ball by stepping out of their defensive line.

In contrast, Sampdoria were completely non-existent on the other end of the pitch in the opening 10 minutes of the match, as they were struggling to progress the ball beyond the midfield third on most occasions.

? Mister #Inzaghi ha scelto l'undici per affrontare la @sampdoria! #CMonEagles ? pic.twitter.com/W8uDfcL7q4

— S.S.Lazio (@OfficialSSLazio) February 20, 2021

As the game progressed deeper into the first half, Lazio remained a team in control with the majority of ball possession, often finding themselves in and around the attacking third of the pitch after breaking through Sampdoria’s first line of press.

Nevertheless, it took the hosts more than 20 minutes to turn all this pretty possession into chance creation. Luis Alberto latched on to a pass inside Sampdoria’s penalty area and unleashed a powerful shot to the right post but could not beat the keeper.

The pivotal moment of the game came in the 24^th minute when the same Luis Alberto received a perfectly weighted pass from Correa inside the box and fired home an excellent shot inside the right post, leaving no chance for Emil Audero.

After the opening goal, the game dynamics did not change as Lazio remained a team in control, while Sampdoria struggled to get out of their half. Gradually, Lazio’s dominance on the ball started to pay dividends, with Immobile firing away a dangerous first-time effort that sailed over the crossbar.

After an anonymous first 30 minutes, Lazio’s top scorer of the season had come to life as he managed to send a promising strike towards the middle of the goal after receiving a precise pass inside the box. The final 10 minutes of the first half did not offer much action on either end of the pitch.

46’ | #LazioSamp 1-0

Riprende la sfida#CMonEagles ? pic.twitter.com/3MdfMLr5QP

— S.S.Lazio (@OfficialSSLazio) February 20, 2021

At the start of the second half, the game began to open up as a result of Sampdoria’s increased intent to drive forward and place Lazio under a little bit more pressure, especially down the left-wing. Consequently, the visitors’ first and only half-decent chance of the game came down that side when Sampdoria’s left wing-back Tommaso Augello beat Marušic one-on-one and sent a whipping cross into the box, but Fabio Quagliarella managed to send his close-range header over the bar.

In the next 15 minutes, Vedat Muriqi had two glorious opportunities to kill the game off, but he managed to fluff his lines on both occasions. At first, the Kosovar striker made an absolute hash of a low cross from the right-wing as he completely miss-kicked the shot with only an empty goal in front of him.

Minutes later, Muriqi received an inch-perfect through ball and got himself in a position one-on-one with the keeper but failed to create a chance as one of Lazio’s defenders managed to block him.

Although Sampdoria were trying their best to find an equalizer in the last 15 minutes of the game, their efforts lacked both an idea and overall quality in their actions in the final third of the pitch. In contrast, Lazio got their job done and are still in a fight for the top four.  

 

MATCH REPORT

February 20, 2021 – Serie A 2020-2021 Round 23
LAZIO-SAMPDORIA 1-0

SCORER: 24′ Luis Alberto

REFEREE: Mr. Massa from Imperia
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Lulic, Marusic, Escalante, Patric (L), Silva, Ekdal, Colley (S); Extra Time: 1st Half 1′, 2nd Half 4′