August 2, 2019: Bournemouth Lazio 3-4
- Lazio Stories
- Aug 2
- 8 min read
Good attack, bad defence
Lazio won in Bournemouth playing well in attack, but not so well in defence.
Also on this day: August 2, 1997: Lazio Olympiacos 3-2, Friendly. Lazio delight the fans with an exceptional first half and a spectacular Mancini
The season so far
The 2018-19 season had been a disappointing one with one exception. Lazio, who had Champions League qualification hopes, started badly with two losses against Napoli and Juventus but by the end of the first half of the season were fourth even if a long way off the top three. They then lost positions but returned fourth by the 29th game after beating Inter in Milan. But in the next four matches they lost three (including at home to already relegated Chievo) and drew one. The last bus was the game against Atalanta but they lost that one too so no top tier European competitions for the 2019-20 season. In the Europa League they came second in their group behind Eintracht Frankfurt and were then knocked out by Sevilla.
In Coppa Italia, however, it was a different story. After beating Novara 4-1 in January, they beat Inter in the penalty shoot-out in the quarterfinals and Milan in the semis. In the final, two goals from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Joaquin Correa in the last ten minutes enabled them to beat Atalanta, win their seventh Coppa Italia, and qualify for the Europa League.
In the 2019-20 season there were high hopes. The previous year had seen a not so good season from Luis Alberto, Milinkovic-Savic and Ciro Immobile due to a number of injuries and it was hoped that if the three managed to play better, an improvement would be guaranteed.
Simone Inzaghi had been confirmed as manager and the new arrivals were Manuel Lazzari (Spal), Denis Vavro (Copenhagen), Jony (Malaga) and young Bobby Adekanye on a free transfer. Leaving Lazio were Romulo (end of loan so back to Genoa), Bruno Jordão and Pedro Neto (Wolverhampton) and Alessandro Murgia (Spal). Dušan Basta had retired.
The Biancocelesti had spent their usual few weeks pre-season training at Auronzo di Cadore where they had won five games scoring an impressive 44 goals. Today they were in Bournemouth for their first international test.
The match: Friday, August 2, 2019, Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth
Bournemouth started well and after just eight minutes had a chance to open the score with Jordan Ibe who on the counter attack flew towards the Lazio box in a potential three against one but instead of crossing towards the middle for his teammates he tried a shot which shaved the post. The Biancocelesti then took control and in the 14th minute scored. A Joaquin Correa-Ciro Immobile one-two in the box and the Argentinian from an impossible angle managed to make it 1-0.
The hosts did not take long to equalise. In the 20th minute Andrew Surman to Jefferson Lerma in a central position outside the penalty area, not met with much opposition, put the ball behind Thomas Strakosha with a clinical shot.
In the 22nd minute a wonderful pass from Milan Badelj for Immobile but the King could not do better than shoot at the keeper. In the 31st minute Bournemouth scored again. Ryan Fraser crossed into the box, Stefan Radu and Senad Lulic just stood and watched while Dominic Solanke had no trouble in making it 2-1.
Lazio thought they had equalised immediately with Immobile but the referee did not give the goal due to a dubious handball by Marco Parolo. In the 41st minute a beautiful ball from Parolo to Immobile who in front of the keeper tried a shot that fortuitously hit Mark Travers and landed on the crossbar.
In the 48th minute Jack Stacey inadvertently passed the ball to Luis Alberto just outside the box. A gift which the Spaniard gladly accepted. 2-2.
Six minutes later Radu crossed from the left and Parolo headed the ball into the net in almost complete solitude. Having gone ahead the Biancocelesti did not stop. In the 75th minute Parolo to Correa who produced an incredible piece of magic, literally going through two defenders to make it 4-2. Seven minutes later Ibe went down the right and once inside the box gave a splendid ball to Stacey who closed the score on 4-3.
Good training match for Lazio, though a lot more work was still needed in defence.
Who played for Bournemouth
Travers (46' Begovic), Simpson, Mepham, Butcher (77' Surridge), Stacey, Surman (65' Dobre), Lerma, Daniels (79' Jordan), Ibe, Solanke, Fraser
Substitutes: Ofoborh, Dennis, Sherring, Zemura
Manager: Howe
Who played for Lazio
Strakosha, Vavro (69’ Patric), Acerbi, Radu (69’ Wallace), Lazzari, Parolo, Badelj (77’ Cataldi), Luis Alberto (80’ Andre Anderson), Lulic (76’ Jony), Correa (76’ Adekanye), Immobile
Substitutes: Guerrieri, Alia, Luiz Felipe
Manager: Inzaghi
Referee: Bankes
Goals: 14’ Correa, 20’ Lerma, 31’ Solanke, 48’ Luis Alberto, 54’ Parolo, 75’ Correa, 82’ Stacey
What happened next
A slow start for Lazio. Until October Lazio had shown potential but also thrown away points here and there. They were not playing well either. Immobile was scoring a lot as usual but it was not working. The Europa League campaign had also started badly.
At the end of the first half in the match at home against Atalanta, Lazio were losing 3-0. The season was practically a write off, and it was only October. But then something triggered in the players’ head. Lazio managed to draw the game and start a winning streak which only ended after a club record of 11 wins, including Milan away (for the first time since 1989) and Juventus. They also beat the Bianconeri in the Supercoppa in Riyad.
Lazio were playing beautifully, scoring lots of goals and Immobile was on fire. They had reached top spot in Serie A with a win against Bologna and success seemed behind the corner. But then Covid stopped the world and when the Biancocelesti came back to play, bad form, injuries and the problem in substituting key players such as Lucas Leiva and Lulic, broke everybody’s dreams.
However, they managed to secure 4th place and Champions League for the 2020-2021 season.
Immobile scored 36 goals in Serie A, equalling the Italian record set by Gonzalo Higuain. This was enough for him to win the European Golden Boot.
Let’s talk about Joaquín Correa
Carlos Joaquín 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 España.
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 13 years of 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 he made 41 appearances with just 4 goals winning the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa again. He then left for Olympique Marseille for a season but made just 19 appearances with no goals. Back in Milan for the 2024-25 he again played very little (22 games with 2 goals) and his contract was not renewed.
On June 10 2025 he signed a two-year contract with Botafogo.
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 20 caps and 4 goals for Argentina (Singapore, Bolivia, Venezuela, Arab Emirates).
Correa is usually played as a supporting striker, at Lazio it was for Immobile. 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 goal in the Coppa Italia Final, which will never be forgotten.
Lazio career
Sources
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