April 16, 2022: Lazio Torino 1-1

Simon Basten
6 hours ago
5 min read

When the going gets tough … Immobile provides a solution

Lazio manage to equalise in the last moments of the match thanks to Immobile

The season so far

The planning of the 2021-22 season practically started only a few days after the end of the previous one. Simone Inzaghi, Claudio Lotito and Igli Tare met in the evening of May 23 to discuss the manager’s contract renewal. By the very early hours of the 24th all was settled: Inzaghi would sign another contract with Lazio and was expected at the club headquarters the next morning. This is what he told his closest collaborators as well as a few players.

What was really happening? Apparently Inzaghi was buying time, faking a possible renewal with Lazio while at the same time negotiating a deal with Inter. On the morning of the 24th, Simone called Lotito to basically say “sorry, ain’t coming in this morning, gonna sign with Inter”. A shock for Lazio who really did not expect to lose Inzaghi. Apparently Inzaghi and Tare had even spoken about the summer transfers. Everything had been agreed. Lazio had to start from scratch.

Lotito at this point had to decide what to do. So he chose change, drastic change, both in mentality and professionalism: in came Maurizio Sarri. This meant moving from the Inzaghi classic 3-5-2 formation to 4-3-3, a BIG change.

Lazio had budget problems and could not invest too much on new players: in came Mattia Zaccagni, Pedro, Toma Basic, Elsied Hysaj, Luka Romero and the return of Felipe Anderson. Senad Lulic and Marco Parolo did not have their contracts extended and Lazio also said goodbye to Joaquin Correa and Felipe Caicedo.

The season started well with two wins but then became very inconsistent. Great wins (Inter, Roma), great collapses (Bologna, Verona, Napoli), completely incapable of finding some kind of happy medium. Whereas from an attacking point of view the team were doing well, they were terrible defensively, from the goalkeeper to the central defenders but the midfield was also to blame, unable to give sufficient cover. Some players adapted perfectly to the new system (Ciro Immobile was scoring more than ever, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was having his best season at Lazio), others were having problems (Luis Alberto, Francesco Acerbi, Luiz Felipe, Manuel Lazzari). But Sarri did warn everybody that the first season was going to be a transitional one, and that it was preparatory for 2022-23.

The Europa League Group stage was determined by an incredible howler by Thomas Strakosha which cost Lazio the match against Galatasaray. This undermined the rest of the tournament and Lazio arrived second in their group and would play Porto in the playoff. Despite showing that potentially the Biancocelesti were the better team, they lost in Portugal 2-1 due to defensive errors and only managed to draw 2-2 at home.

In Coppa Italia, the Biancocelesti struggled at home against Udinese and only won in extra time. The quarter final, played a few days before the Bologna game, against Milan was a disaster with Lazio having another one of their blackouts. They lost 4-0 and were eliminated.

The Biancocelesti were currently sixth, two points behind Roma. The Champions League bus had long gone, but there was still a concrete chance to qualify for the Europa League. Lazio were two points ahead of Fiorentina and three more than Atalanta. A win today would be important.

The match: Saturday, April 16, 2022, Stadio Olimpico, Rome

The game was enjoyable though the teams did not create any big chances. One had to wait until the 29th minute when on a corner taken by Ricardo Rodriguez saw Bremer rise high and attempt a header which hit the woodwork. Samuele Ricci tried another header which Thomas Strakosha palmed over the crossbar. In the 34th minute another chance for the visitors. Ola Aina from the right crossed low in the box, Andrea Belotti missed the ball which anyway reached Mergim Vojvoda whose shot hit the outside of the net.

Lazio finally dangerous in the 39th minute. Freekick taken by Luis Alberto, long ball in the box, in went Sergej Milinkovic-Savic whose fantastic volley was well saved by Etrit Berisha.

In the 50th minute another Rodriguez corner reached Armando Izzo who with a header beat Strakosha but not Felipe Anderson who on the line managed to clear. The Granata goal however did not take long to arrive. Another Rodriguez corner in the 56th minute found Pietro Pellegri who this time headed the ball past Strakosha.

Lazio woke up, finally, and pressed for an equaliser. In the 77th minute Danilo Cataldi took a corner, the ball was half cleared but reached Milinkovic-Savic just inside the box. Splendid header and wonderful save from Berisha.

In the second minute of added time, Milinkovic sent in a perfect cross, Berisha was in no man’s land and Ciro Immobile headed the ball into the net for Lazio’s equaliser.

The Biancocelesti did not have much time left but pressed for a winner. In the 94th minute Cataldi with a splendid shot from outside the box shaved the post.

All in all, a fair result.

Who played for Lazio

Strakosha, Lazzari, Patric (43' Luiz Felipe), Acerbi, Marusic, Milinkovic-Savic, Leiva (69' Cataldi), Luis Alberto (69' Basic), Felipe Anderson (85' Romero), Immobile, Zaccagni

Substitutes: Reina, Adamonis, Kamenovic, Radu, Hysaj, Cabral, Moro

Manager: Sarri

Who played for Torino

Berisha, Izzo (51' Zima), Bremer, Rodriguez, Vojvoda, Lukic, Ricci, Aina (74' Singo), Pobega (87' Buongiorno), Brekalo; Belotti (46' Pellegri)

Substitutes: Milinkovic-Savic, Gemello, Ansaldi, Garbett, Linetty, Pjaca, Seck, Sanabria

Manager: Juric

Referee: Prontera

Goals: 56' Pellegri, 90'+2' Immobile

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHdXcgLs9mM

What happened next

Lazio secured a Europe League qualification in the penultimate game away to Juventus where they drew 2-2 coming from behind. The draw at home in the final game against Verona allowed them to stay ahead of Roma so all in all it was a positive first season for Maurizio Sarri.

The player with most appearances was Felipe Anderson (48) and the top goal scorer was obviously Immobile with 32 goals. He was the top scorer in Serie A for the fourth time, the first Italian player ever to achieve such a feat.

Let’s talk about Dimitrije Kamenović

Dimitrije Kamenović was a mysterious signing by Igli Tare. He played just 45 minutes and was ignored by all the Lazio managers from his arrival to his final departure in 2026.

Kamenović was born on July 16, 2000, in Pirot, Serbia. He started playing football as a defender in the youth teams of Čukarički debuting professionally on March 10 2019 in the Serbian Superlig in a match drawn with Dinamo Vranje. In the three seasons he played for Čukarički he made 57 appearances with two goals.

In the summer of 2021 he signed for Lazio but due to an administrative error he could only join in January 2022. That season he made just one appearance in the final game coming in at the beginning of the second half in place of Luis Felipe. He actually did not play too badly and made a favourable impression. He however never played for Lazio again.

In January 2023 he was loaned to Sparta Prague but made just two appearances with the first team and seven with the second. In February 2024 he went again on loan this time to Swiss Yverdon where he made 13 appearances with one goal in the first six months. The loan was confirmed for another season but he rarely played, just nine games.

He came back to Lazio and in January 2026 he was sold to Lokomotiv Zagreb.

Kamenović was a weird signing. Rumour has it that his agent was the same as Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's and he was bought as a favour. We will never know.