April 26, 2021: Lazio Milan 3-0
- Lazio Stories
- 5 days ago
- 9 min read
Correa demolishes Milan
The Argentinian comes to life against the Rossoneri and scores a brace
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had come fourth securing a Champions League qualification for the first time since 2007. At one point there were even scudetto hopes, but the outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic and the forced stoppage took away the exceptional state of form Lazio were in so they had to settle for fourth.
This season there were high hopes to maintain the position acquired last year and to do well in CL. In the summer transfer window new players arrived: Pepe Reina (free agent), Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro (Salernitana), Gonzalo Escalante (free agent), Mohamed Fares (Spal), Andreas Pereira (on loan from Manchester United), Vedat Muriqi (Fenerbahçe) and the return of Wesley Hoedt on loan from Southampton. Leaving Lazio were Jordan Lukaku (loan to Antwerp), André Anderson (loan to Salernitana), Jony (loan to Osasuna), Bobby Adekanye (loan to Cadiz), Valon Berisha (Stade Reims), Riccardo Kishna and Ivan Vargic who had not renewed their contracts.
The summer was characterised by the possible arrival of David Silva, splendid Spanish midfielder who had not renewed his contract with Manchester City. The first contacts between the player's agent, his brother Nandez Jimenez, started on July 27. The first offer arrived on August 4: three-year contract, 10 billion euros gross, apartment in central Rome and the use of a private jet. Jimenez arrived in Rome on August 7 to fine tune the details and all was decided. David Silva would be playing for Lazio.
Slight problem. He had not signed the contract yet. Lazio sent the documentation and waited. The agent literally disappeared and Silva continued to train with Man City. Sporting director Igli Tare tried to reach out to the player and his entourage but to no avail. The club decided to issue an ultimatum for August 16. Still no news. On the 17th Jimenez contacted Lazio to say that the deal was off and a few hours later Silva signed for Real Sociedad.
What happened? David Silva’s agent used Lazio to get a better deal with Real Sociedad. As a consequence, with the fans fuming at Tare for not having closed the deal, the club got anxious and signed Muriqi paying him way too much. But Igli needed to send a sign to calm things down. A big mistake.
At the end of the first half of the season they were sixth with Napoli and had four consecutive victories, including a 3-0 in the derby. The wins on the trot (including beating Atalanta in Bergamo) became six before falling to Inter. They were still sixth and a Champions League qualification was rather far away.
In the Champions League it was a different story. In their first game against Erling Haaland’s Borussia Dortmund, Lazio put on a marvellous display and won 3-1. With two wins and four draws they achieved second place, but had been eliminated by Bayern Munich in the round of 16.
The match: Sunday, April 26, 2021, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
One minute and Milan were already on the attack. A Hakan Calhanoglu – Mario Mandžukić one-two, the Turk just outside the box tried a shot that was parried by Pepe Reina and Manuel Lazzari cleared. Sixty seconds later Lazio scored. Luis Alberto passed to Joaquin Correa on the left who tried to pass to Senad Lulic with a type of up and under, Ismael Bennacer tried to control the ball but it got away from him and reached Correa who was quick to move forward, one-two with Ciro Immobile, and he was in front of Gigi Donnarumma. He dribbled past the keeper and scored.
Three minutes later and it was almost 2-0. Luis Alberto took a free kick from the right, ball in the box, Frank Kessie headed the ball backwards directly for Immobile who controlled it and shot from close range but Donnarumma managed to parry. Shortly after Ante Rebic found Calhanoglu alone in front of Reina but his shot was saved by the Spanish goalkeeper. Towards the end of the first half a Lazzari goal was not given due to a millimetric offside and in the injury time Mandžukić tried an acrobatic volley which Reina saved.
In the 51st minute Calhanoglu moved forward towards the Lazio penalty area, Lucas Leiva anticipated him, Luis Alberto gave a splendid ball to Correa. In front of the box he dribbled, passed Fikayo Tomori and with a big whack scored Lazio’s second. The Milan players all protested because they claimed Leiva had fouled Calhanoglu. VAR called referee Orsato to have a look but he was not convinced he had made a mistake and the goal was judged valid.
Milan lost heart and the game petered out. The Biancocelesti did try to score their third and went very close in the 80th minute when Immobile, after a splendid assist from Luis Alberto, tried a lob over Donnarumma, who certainly is not short, from 30 meters but the ball hit the woodwork. Ciro did eventually get his goal. Adam Marusic to Lazzari on the right, ball just inside the box to the King who controlled it and with a clinically precise shot made it three.
A great win for Lazio. Maybe there is still a little bit of hope for a Champions League qualification.
Who played for Lazio
Reina, Marusic, Acerbi, Radu, Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic, Leiva (88' Cataldi), Luis Alberto (88' Akpa Akpro), Lulic (67' Fares), Correa (76' Pereira), Immobile (88' Muriqi)
Manager: Inzaghi
Who played for Milan
Donnarumma, Calabria (69' Dalot), Kjaer (73' Romagnoli), Tomori, Theo Hernandez, Kessie, Bennacer (69' Tonali), Saelemekers (63' Diaz), Calhanoglu, Rebic, Mandzukic (63' Leao)
Substitutes: Tatarusanu, Gabbia, Kalulu, Krunic, Meité, Castillejo, Hauge
Manager: Pioli
Referee: Orsato
Goals: 2' Correa, 51' Correa, 87' Immobile
What happened next
The season was characterised by great games, on a par with the previous season, and matches where Lazio were completely absent. So often the team would make three steps forward one week and two back the week after. And these steps back were often against “weaker teams”.
Why were there problems? There were probably four reasons.
Lazio, for the first time in many many years, were in the Champions League. This sapped some of the strength out of the team.
The second problem was that the players signed in the summer were not doing well and the much-needed reinforcements came in areas where there was no need (€20 million for Vedat Muriqi) instead of where they were desperately needed (defence).
Simone Inzaghi was making many mistakes. He chose Mohamed Fares and the return of Wesley Hoedt in the transfer window and they were just not good enough; he kept insisting on playing Joaquin Correa who was the shadow of the previous season; kept Luis Alberto on the pitch for 90 minutes on his off days and substituted him early in the second half on his good days; had problems in reading the games and therefore often blundered substitutions. The management of Thomas Strakosha was also terrible and ruined not only the player but also his relationship with the club.
The last problem was Covid. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Lazio had lost themselves. Before Covid they were on top of their game, since, they were struggling.
The Biancocelesti failed to qualify for the Champions League but at least made it to the Europa League.
The player with most appearances this season was Marusic with 46 games and the top scorer was obviously Immobile with 25 goals.
Let’s talk about Joaquin Correa
Joaquin Correa was born in Juan Bautista Alberdi, Argentina, on August 13, 1994. He is nicknamed 'El Tucu' (connected with his province of origin, Tucumán).
Correa spent his youth career at River Plate, Renato Cesarini and Estudiantes. It was for Estudiantes of Mar de Plata that he made his professional debut on May 19, 2012, against Banfield (replacing future Italian rival Duván Zapata). His first goal came on May 10 against San Lorenzo (of future Roman neighbour Pope Francis). He made 53 appearances for Los Pincharratas (The Rat stabbers) scoring 3 goals (one against Boca Juniors).
In December 2014 Correa signed for Sampdoria in Serie A, Italy for 8.8 million dollars. He made his debut for the Genoese on February 15, 2015. In a year and a half Correa played 31 league games and scored 3 goals.
In July 2016 Correa left Italy and joined Sevilla in Spain for 13 million Euros. In his two seasons in Andalusia he played 47 league games with 5 goals, 12 in Copa del Rey with 8 goals, 13 in Europa League with 8 goals plus a game in the Supercopa de Espana.
In August 2018 Correa came back to Italy and signed for Lazio for 16 million Euros plus add ons. In his first season in Rome he played 34 league games and scored 5 goals. His first league goal came on September 26 against Udinese. He would also score a dramatic 94th minute equaliser against Milan.
His contribution in Serie A was good, but it was in Coppa Italia that he had his best moments. Firstly he scored the winner away to Milan in the semi-final and then he scored a brilliant solo goal against Atalanta in the final, to seal Lazio's triumph in some tense final minutes of the game.
In his first season with the Biancocelesti he would lift a trophy and score 9 goals (including 2 in Europa League) in 44 appearances.
His second year in Rome was also a trophy winning one. On December 22, in Riyadh, Lazio defeated Juventus 3-1 to win the Supercoppa Italiana. Correa played 30 Serie A games and scored 9 goals plus 1 game in Coppa Italia, 3 in Europa League (1 goal) and the Supercoppa Final in Saudi Arabia. The year would see the “campionato” interrupted for many months due to the Covid-19 crisis and Lazio then qualify for Champions League.
Correa's third year at Lazio would be his last. No cups were won, but they did take part in the Champions League group phase after a 13-year absence. He played 28 league games with 8 goals and made 2 appearances in Coppa Italia. It was in the Champions League where Correa shone brightest. Lazio got through the group phase also thanks to a memorable 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund. They were then knocked out by a clearly superior Bayern Munich side but Correa scored both in Rome and in Munich, his final tally was 3 goals in 8 games.
With the departure of manager Simone Inzaghi and the arrival of Maurizio Sarri, Correa decided to follow Inzaghi to Inter. In August 2021 he was loaned to the Nerazzurri for 5 million Euros, with a successive sign-on fee of 25 million Euros.
Correa scored a brace on his Inter debut in a 3-1 away victory at Verona. In his first year at Inter they did not win the scudetto as most had predicted but did win the Supercoppa Italiana (against Juventus) and the Coppa Italia (again Juventus after extra time). He played 26 league games with 6 goals, 4 games in Coppa Italia and 5 in Champions League. In his second year he played 41 games and scored only four goals. Inter won the Coppa Italia again and reached the final of the Champions League, lost against Manchester City. Correa did not play in the final.
In 2023 he was loaned to Olympique Marseille but played seldomly making just 19 appearances with no goals. He then went back to Inter and is still there.
At International level Correa made his senior debut on 9 June 2017 in a “friendly” against Brazil. His first goal for Argentina came against Singapore on 13 June of the same year. In 2021 he was part of the La Albiceleste (The White and Sky Blue) squad that won the Copa America making 3 appearances. So far, he has 17 caps and 3 goals for Argentina.
Correa usually played as a supporting striker for Immobile at Lazio. He is however a player of movement and possesses good athleticism so can often be seen in other areas of the forward line. He has excellent ball control which combined with his dribbling ability and pace make him a threatening prospect for defenders. He is also agile and has some of that gliding quality Kakà once had. He is not however a clinical finisher, often scoring spectacular goals but missing the sitters.
At Lazio, Correa was a mixed success. He scored some great and decisive goals and helped Lazio lift two trophies and no-one disputed his talent. He nevertheless seemed to lack the killer instinct and would often drift in and out of matches. There was the sense he had to toughen up and be more consistent to become a top player. He showed Lazio fans flashes of his undisputed huge talent but left with the impression he could have done more.
What he did do of course includes a Cup Final goal which will never be forgotten.
Lazio career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Europa League | Super Coppa |
2018-19 | 44 (9) | 34 (5) | 4 (2) | - | 6 (2) | - |
2019-20 | 35 (10) | 30 (9) | 1 | - | 3 (1) | 1 |
2020-21 | 38 (11) | 28 (8) | 2 | 8 (3) | - | - |
Total | 117 (30) | 92 (22) | 7 (2) | 8 (3) | 9 (3) | 1 |
Sources
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