The Biancocelesti go behind after eleven minutes, but know how to come back: Vecino and the Spaniard turn the result around, with another last-minute victory in injury time
The Lazio suffers, trembles and wins in recovery Champions League. Once again it was the 95th minute that made the Biancocelesti rejoice and explode, with the 2-1 scored by Pedro in one of the last actions of the match. Against the Celtic, Sarri and his team fell behind thanks to Furuhashi’s goal (11′), only to then straighten the match with Vecino (29′). After taking a big risk in the second half, with the goal disallowed in Palma, here is the 2-1 which is worth the tie to Atletico Madrid.
THE MATCH
Once again recovery, once again the 95th minute. Lazio wins a very difficult and painful match, in which they risked defeat and probably even deserved it, against a courageous Celtic: however, it is 2-1 in Glasgow, with Pedro’s last-gasp goal making Sarri rejoice. The hosts move the ball well, dominating the Scottish Premier League with 19 points in 7 games and a reassuring +7 over Rangers. The ball possession at the start belongs entirely to the team coached by Brendan Rodgers, with Hatate and O’Riley in great form: it is the latter who serves a wonderful ball to Furuhashi, who beat Provedel for 1-0 in the 11th minute. Maeda scares Lazio on the counterattack, but after halfway through the first half the Biancocelesti increase the pressure and start to show up forward, scaring Celtic. The equalizer comes in the 29th minute and it’s deja-vu: he gets it back Neighbor, correcting Romagnoli’s header into the net. Hart removes the ball from the net, but the referee validates thanks to Goal Line Technology and it is 1-1.
The goal is an impromptu moment for Lazio, who take another risk on Maeda’s volleys and waste sensationally with Felipe Anderson at the start of the second half. In the 58th minute he serves Provedel to avoid Hatate’s goal, then Johnston shoots high on the rebound. The substitutions lowered the pace of the match, but in the 80th minute Lazio trembled when Palma scored, taking advantage of Maeda’s overhead kick assist. The goal is disallowed for offside and Sarri breathes, inserting Pedro for the final siege. The move works, because the Spaniard enters Guendouzi’s cross ferociously and scores the 2-1 in the 95th minute. Lazio suffers, wins and catches Atletico Madrid at the top of the group with four points.
REPORT CARDS
Maeda 6.5 – He literally drives his neighbor crazy with offensive outbursts at uncontainable speed. He overlaps, centralizes and is a loose cannon on the right. The best player on the pitch by distance, starts the lead and would need the assist to make it 2-1 (cancelled).
O’Riley 6.5 – Those who expected Lazio to dominate in midfield were amazed by the all-round performance of this Dane from England. He annihilates the opposing midfielders and provides the assist to make it 1-0. Ubiquitous.
Pedro 6.5 – Six minutes plus injury time are enough for him to be decisive: he takes Guendouzi’s assist and heads home the goal to make it 2-1, which is worth the victory. As against Atletico, the goal came in the 95th minute.
Felipe Anderson 5.5 – He would have the chance to give Lazio the lead, but he gets stuck in a series of attempts to dribble past his opponent. The reflection of a profoundly inconclusive match for him and Lazio.
Immobile 5.5 – His extremely disappointing start to the season continues. He never manages to make himself dangerous, hitting the net only from an offside position. The substitution is inevitable, given that Scales tamed him throughout the match.
THE SCORESHEET
CELTIC (4-3-3): Hart 5.5; A. Johnston 6, Phillips 5.5 (16′ st Carter-Vickers 5.5), Scales 6, Taylor 6; O’Riley 6.5, McGregor 6, Hatate 6.5 (27′ st Paulo Bernardo 6); Maeda 6.5, Furuhashi 6.5 (40′ st Oh Hyeon-gyu sv), Yang Hyun-jun 6 (16′ st Palma 6.5). All. Rodgers. A disposizione: Bain, Morrison, Turnbull, Iwata, Forrest, Ralston, M. Johnston.
LAZIO (4-3-3): Provedel 6.5; Lazzari 6 (39′ st Marusic sv), Patric 5.5, Romagnoli 6; Hysaj 5.5; Kamada 5.5, Vecino 6, Luis Alberto 6 (22′ st Guendouzi 6.5); Felipe Anderson 5.5 (22′ st Isaksen 6), Immobile 5.5 (26′ st Castellanos 5.5), Zaccagni 6 (39′ st Pedro 6.5). All. Sarri. Available: Sepe, Magro, Pellegrini, Casale, Cataldi, Gila, Rovella.
Referee: Rumsas (Lit).
Markers: 11′ Furuhashi (C), 29′ Vecino (L), 50′ st Pedro (L).
Warned: Phillips (C), Luis Alberto (L), Castellanos (L), Palma (C), Vecino (L).
THE STATISTICS
-Lazio won a Champions League away match for the first time since 16 September 2003 (2-0 vs Besiktas).
-Lazio are unbeaten in their last eight matches (W3, D5) in the Champions League group stage and have equaled their longest streak of consecutive games without defeat at this stage of the tournament, which they had recorded in their first eight matches (including second group stage) in the 1999/2000 season.
-Two of the three late goals in this edition of the Champions League were scored by Lazio: that of Pedro, at 94′,57” and that of Provedel, at 94′,20”. Together with these that of Teze of PSV against Sevilla (94′,37”).
-17th goal for Pedro in the Champions League, the first since the one scored with the Chelsea shirt on 12 September 2017.
-Pedro hadn’t scored a goal coming off the bench in the Champions League since September 2009 (Barcelona-Dinamo Kiev) (this is only his second in the competition as a substitute).
-Pedro hasn’t scored an away goal in the Champions League since 28 September 2011, with Barcelona against Bate Borisov.
-This evening’s goal in the 94′,57′ minute is the latest goal scored by Pedro in the Champions League.
-Lazio have conceded goals in each of their last 21 Champions League matches. The last occasion he kept a clean sheet in the competition was on 16 September 2003, vs Besiktas.
-Kyogo Furuhashi’s goal is the first goal conceded by an Italian team in the modern Champions League by a Japanese player.
-Third goal for Matias Vecino in the Champions League, the first since 5 November 2019, scored with the Inter shirt against Borussia Dortmund.
-Matias Vecino is, with Ciro Immobile and Luis Alberto, one of the three Lazio players with more than one goal scored in all competitions in the current season.
2023-10-04 21:03:56
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