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Lazio climbed up to 6th in the Serie A with their win over Verona and Jerry Mancini looks back on a promising showing from the Biancocelesti…
Lazio returned to winning ways in Serie A as they defeated Hellas Verona 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico. It was a relentless defensive performance from the visitors as they made it difficult for the Biancocelesti to score. Yet, with 20 minutes remaining, Ciro Immobile and Luis Alberto each scored in style as they delivered late for their club.
Last season, Lazio struggled after midweek matches in the Europa League as they had disappointing results. They dropped points to mid table clubs yet it was their performances that became worrisome as they often underachieved. However, with the signings they have made this past summer transfer market, it has provided depth and the ability to compete on two fronts.
“We know that it’s more difficult when we play in Europe, but the club has helped us by signing new players in the summer. They are helping us and we rotated a lot to be fresh today,” Immobile stated to DAZN.
“The coach will be happy, he’s been telling us that we’ve never done well after European games. The team is deeper [than last season], Casale and Marcos Antonio helped us today. Reserves can make the difference.”
This past week has been eventful for Alberto as he’s provided two impactful performances for Lazio in Europa League and Serie A. On Thursday in the Europa League, the Spaniard started and provided a goal and an assist to lead Lazio to a 4-2 win versus Feyenoord. With the Biancocelesti tied 0-0 versus Verona, the midfielder came off the bench in the 55th minute and provided the spark the club desperately needed in their attack.
Alberto was effective at both ends of the pitch as he was clinical, provided key passes, was creative in their attack and made timely challenges. He finished the match with three key passes, two accurate crosses, one interception, one clearance and one goal. The midfielder has often been criticized as being a liability in Sarri’s system. However, the Spaniard’s impressive start to the season has proven he’s an asset to the Italian tactician.
Sarri made a surprise change to the lineup as Nicolo Casale started in place of Alessio Romagnoli. In addition, this was his first start with Lazio and the centre-back didn’t disappoint at the Stadio Olimpico. Throughout the course of the match, Casale provided stability in the backend as he made timely challenges, used his pace effectively to cut down runs and showed a good read of the game.
On several occasions, Casale came off his line to break up a play or make a timely tackle that prevented Verona from a scoring opportunity. In recent seasons, the backline has been an area of concern yet this hasn’t been the case for Lazio. In the early goings, Mario Gila, Romagnoli and Casale have shown to be quality signings as they’ve provided some needed depth in defense.
Casale finished the match with two tackles, one interception, one clearance and one blocked shot.
With Lazio and Verona tied with just over 20 minutes remaining, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Immobile both stepped up late in the match for Lazio. The Serbian delivered a quality cross into the box to setup the Lazio striker, who scored his third Serie A goal this season.
In recent seasons the two players have shown to be an incredible duo who have helped lift Lazio to several victories. Milinkovic-Savic has delivered 23 of his 41 Serie A assists to Immobile.
“Sergej is an incredible player, like Luis Alberto, I’ve shared a lot of my goals with them. They always put me in the right condition to score. They know me as well as my wife,” Immobile said of his relationship with Milinkovic-Savic.
In addition, before the match Milinkovic-Savic was celebrated for playing his 300th match in all competitions for Lazio earlier this week vs Feyenoord. The midfielder continues to be an integral part to this club.
“I am proud to have made my 300th appearance with the club. I hope many more will come, the fans are helping us every time, especially in tough moments,” Milinkovic-Savic told DAZN.
GIFN | Jerry Mancini
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