Lazio registered their first victory of 2022 by beating Salernitana 3-0 at the Stadio Arechi. Maurizio Sarri’s side produced some dazzling football in Salerno and got a richly-deserved win.
Lazio opened the scoring after only seven minutes thanks to their talisman Ciro Immobile. The 31-year-old doubled his team’s lead soon after to reach the top of the Serie A scoring charts. Manuel Lazzarri scored Lazio’s third after a brilliant move involving Immobile and Felipe Anderson.
In the end, it was a comprehensive and much-needed win for the Biancocelesti who are now sixth in the league table. Salernitana’s troubles continue as they remain bottom.
Despite the win, Lazio
Starting XIs: Alberto Back, Salernitana Make Eight Changes
Sarri made three changes to the Lazio side that lost to Inter last weekend with Patric coming in for the injured Stefan Radu. In midfield, Luis Alberto was back in the lineup, replacing Toma Basic. Up front, Mattia Zaccagni started in place of Felipe Anderson.
Salernitana were forced to make eight changes from their victory in Verona due to COVID and AFCON. Frederic Veseli, Francesco Di Tacchio and Cedric Gondo were the only players who started against Verona last weekend.
Immobile Strikes Twice in the First Half
Lazio were on the front foot from the very beginning and took only seven minutes to open the scoring. Alberto’s pass found Milinkovic-Savic whose fantastic backheel reached Immobile and he found the net to put his team ahead. Just minutes later, the Serb gave a fine pass to Pedro and he found Immobile who scored again to double the Biancocelesti’s lead.
The striker this reached the top of the Serie A scoring charts with 17 goals to his name, surpassing Dusan Vlahovic.
Lazio kept putting pressure on the Salernitana backline with Immobile’s header crashing against the crossbar. The club captain had another opportunity to complete his hat-trick but his header was not strong enough to trouble the goalkeeper.
The only downside for Lazio in the first half was Pedro being subbed off due to injury. Anderson came on for him.
Salernitana defended for most of the first half but they had a chance to attack towards the end. Cedric Gondo played a ball in the box but Milinkovic-Savic was there to head it for a corner. Just before half time, Lazio had a chance to score a third but Alberto’s shot from distance was wide.
Lazzari Adds Third for Biancocelesti
Lazio continued to attack in the second half with Elseij Hysaj finding Immobile with a pass but Andrei Motoc made a crucial challenge to deny him. Minutes later, Zaccagni had a header on goal but Vid Belec denied him.
Salernitana showed more attacking intent at the start of the second half than they did during the entirety of the first. They kept the Lazio backline busy on a few occasions but were unable to trouble them too much.
The Biancocelesti found a third thanks to substitute Manuel Lazzari who ended a magnificent move. It all started with Immobile providing a brilliant long pass to Anderson, who found Lazzari. The latter eventually beat Belec to score his second goal of the season.
Immobile had a very good chance to complete his hat-trick but his header was saved well by Belec. Lazio eventually did enough to seal all three points.
What’s Next for Salernitana and Lazio?
Salernitana next pay a visit to Naples for their fixture against Napoli next weekend. Next up for Lazio is their Coppa Italia clash against Udinese on Tuesday.
MATCH SCORECARD
January 15, 2022 – Serie A 2021-2022 Matchday 22
SALERNITANA – LAZIO 0-3
SCORERS: 7′ Immobile, 10′ Immobile, 66′ Lazzari
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SALERNITANA (3-5-2): Belec, Motoc, Delli Carri, Veseli, Kechrida, Di Tacchio, Schiavone, Obi (66′ Ruggeri), Ranieri (76′ Perrone), Bonazzoli, Gondo (82′ Vergani) Coach: Colantuono |
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LAZIO (4-3-3): Strakosha, Marusic (59′ Lazzari), Felipe (83′ Vavro), Patric, Hysaj, Milinkovic-Savic, Cataldi (59′ Lucas), Alberto, Pedro (40′ Anderson), Immobile, Zaccagni (83′ Romero) Coach: Sarri |
REFEREE: Mr. Abisso from Palermo
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Cataldi (L), Schiavone (S), Ranieri (S), Felipe (L), Lazzarri (L) ; Added Time: 1st Half 2 ‘, 2nd Half 2’