August 21, 2016: Atalanta-Lazio 3-4
- Dag Jenkins
- Aug 21
- 8 min read
Spectacular start to season
Three-zero up at halftime Lazio resist the Bergamaschi's comeback and hold on for precious win on debut
Also on this day:
August 21, 2001, Lazio FC København 4-1 Champions League Third Qualifying Round. Two goals by Crespo and one by Lopez and Fiore overturn away defeat and bring on more Champions League nights for Lazio.
August 21, 2021, Empoli Lazio 1-3. Empoli play better and hit woodwork twice but Lazio come from behind and win.
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished 8th. The Biancocelesti had played 31 league games under Stefano Pioli and then the last 7 with Simone Inzaghi. They had reached the last 16 of Europa League (after failing to get through the CL preliminary round against Bayer Leverkusen) and the quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia.
This year Marcelo Bielsa had been chosen but "El Loco" lived up to his name and resigned after only a few days due to divergences over transfer market issues. At this point Simone Inzaghi was called back.
The main new signings were goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha (Salernitana- end of loan), defenders Bastos (Rostov), Jordan Lukaku (Oostende), Wallace (Braga), midfielder Luís Alberto (Liverpool) and striker Ciro Immobile (Seville).
Leaving were goalkeeper Etrit Berisha (Atalanta - on loan), defenders Edson Braafheid (end of contract), Santiago Gentiletti (Genoa), Abdoulay Konko (end of contract), Mauricio (Spartak Moscow - on loan), midfielders Antonio Candreva (Inter), Ogenyi "Eddy" Onazi (Trabzonspor), Stefano Mauri (end of contract) and striker Miroslav Klose (retired). So, a few players difficult to replace.
Atalanta had finished 13th the previous season, under former Lazio manager Edy Reja. The Bergamaschi had beaten Lazio 2-1 at home but lost 0-2 in Rome. Top scorer was Alejandro "Papu" Gómez with 7 league goals.
This season the manager was Gian Piero Gasperini. The main new players were: goalkeeper Etrit Berisha (Lazio - on loan, he would arrive soon), defenders Mattia Caldara (Cesena - back from loan), Abdoulay Konko (Lazio), Leonardo Spinazzola (Juventus - on loan), Ervin Zukanović (Roma - on loan), midfielders Alberto Grassi (Napoli - on loan) and Franck Kessié (Cesena - back from loan) plus forwards Alberto Paloschi (Swansea City) and Andrea Petagna (Ascoli - back from loan). Another interesting signing was a young Dejan Kulusevski for the youth team (he would later play for Juventus and Tottenham).
Leaving Bergamo were: defenders Gianpaolo Bellini (retiring after 435 games for Atalanta), Davide Brivio (Genoa), Nicoló Cherubin (Verona), Berat Djimitsi (Avellino - on loan, he would be back two years later), Gabriel Paletta (Milan - end of loan), midfielders Luca Cigarini (Sampdoria), Alessandro Diamanti (Palermo), Marten de Roon (Middlesbrough - on loan, he would be back a year later) plus forward Marco Borriello (Cagliari) and Gaetano Monachello (Bari - on loan).
Atalanta had already started their Coppa Italia campaign on August 13, defeating Cremonese 3-0 at home.
A difficult season opener to predict this evening. Lazio had finished 8th and Atalanta 13th but Bergamo was traditionally a tough place to come for the Roman clubs.
The match: Sunday, August 21, 2016, Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia, Bergamo
A sticky summer evening saw about 15,000 present at the old Brumana now called the Atleti Azzurri d'Italia stadium.
Lazio had several absences: Stefan Radu, Senad Lulic, Bastos, Keita Balde and Felipe Anderson.
Atalanta were without Swiss midfielder Remo Freuler.
Atalanta started better and in the 8th minute Alberto Paloschi hit the crossbar, after a misunderstanding between Marco Parolo and Duşan Basta.
The Bergamaschi had more possession and attacked more but were vulnerable on the break where Lazio found space.
In the 15th minute Sergej Milinkovic-Savic put Ciro Immobile through on the left one-on-one with the keeper who he beat with a low shot on the far post, 0-1. The first of the Neapolitan striker's 207 goals for Lazio.
In the 20th minute Lazio scored again. Lucas Biglia floated a free kick into the area where Wesley Hoedt got a header in which Marco Sportiello touched but could not keep out, 0-2.
Atalanta were in trouble and unbalanced. Thirteen minutes later Lazio made it three. A Ricardo Kishna pass cut through the hosts' defensive line and sent Immobile clear. This time however Sportiello saved but Cristiano Lombardi raced in and scored on the rebound, 0-3.
Atalanta then wasted a chance to start a comeback when Leonardo Spinazzola headed wide from an extremely favourable position.
Just before halftime Atalanta were forced into a substitution with talented Marco D'Alessandro coming on in place of a more muscular Boukary Dramé. Halftime Atalanta 0 Lazio 3. Lazio were cruising despite only having 31% ball possession.
In the second half Lazio continued to control and defend but without any further dangerous forays on the break.
They reached just past the hour mark without running any serious risks but then the game changed. In the 63rd minute Franck Kessié pulled one back for the Dea. Kishna lost Andrea Conti, Milinkovic-Savic was slow and the Ivorian, just outside the area on the right, took advantage and beat Federico Marchetti on the near post with a low shot which the Lazio keeper was not expecting. 1-3.
The game was definitely re-opened two minutes later. In the 65th minute a prolonged Atalanta attack saw a low long range shot not held onto by Marchetti and Kessié was there for the tap-in, 2-3 but Marchetti's second mistake of the evening.
Inzaghi then took off Kishna for Filip Djordjevic.
Five minutes later Inzaghi took precautions by taking off forward Lombardi and putting on a physical defender Wallace.
The Orobici at this point believed in a comeback which had seemed unlikely a few minutes earlier. Lazio however defended well.
In the 78th minute Gasperini threw on another striker Andrea Petagna for a defender Ervin Zukanovic.
Atalanta put pressure on Lazio's defence but had difficulty creating any real threats.
On a curious note in the 80th minute one of the linesmen felt ill and had to be replaced by the fourth man.
In the 86th minute Roberto Gagliardini replaced Jasmin Kurtic. Gasperini probably hoped the home boy midfielder would pull off one of his long range efforts.
One minute later the visitors too made their last replacement, Danilo Cataldi came on for Milinkovic-Savic.
It was a lucky choice as after only two minutes the Roman and Lazio fan scored. Basta won a tackle and reached the right byline where he crossed low into the middle, Djordjevic was slightly late but Cataldi was at the far post and scored with his left foot, 2-4.
Game over? No. In the third minute of added time Atalanta gave themselves some hope. It was a somewhat fortuitous goal but taken well by Petagna. Conti tried a low long range shot and it was not a great strike but it reached Petagna inside the box on the right, he beat Wallace and hit a low shot past Marchetti on the far post, 3-4.
Fortunately for Lazio there were only two more minutes to play and they managed to bring home the three points to start the season well.
A good win but with some things to put right. Risking to let a three goal lead slip away was a bit worrying as were Marchetti's two blunders. On the positive side Lazio had been devastating on the break and Immobile seemed to be settling in well.
Who played for Atalanta
Sportiello, Raimondi, Toloi, Zukanovic (78' Petagna), Dramé (43' D'Alessandro), Conti, Kurtic (86' Gagliardini), Kessié, Spinazzola, Gomez, Paloschi
Substitutes: Bassi, Mazzini, Stendardo, Masiello, Caldara, Migliaccio, Carmona, Cabezas, Latte
Manager: Gasperini
Who played for Lazio
Marchetti, Basta, de Vrij, Hoedt, Lukaku, Parolo, Biglia, Milinkovic-Savic (87' Cataldi), Lombardi (70' Wallace), Immobile, Kishna (65' Djordjevic)
Manager: S. Inzaghi
Referee: Banti
Goals: 15' Immobile, 20' Hoedt, 33' Lombardi, 63' Kessié, 65' Kessié, 89' Cataldi, 92' Petagna
What happened next
Lazio went on to have a positive season finishing 5th and qualifying for the Europa League. The Biancocelesti then had 20 wins (including Samp 7-3, Palermo and Pescara both 6-2), 7 draws and 10 defeats. The highlight in the league was defeating Roma 3-1 in the return derby despite a scandalous penalty for the Giallorossi (the famous Strootman theatrical simulation).
In the Coppa Italia they reached the final after eliminating Genoa 4-2, Inter 2-1 away and Roma 4-3 on aggregate. They were then however defeated 0-2 by Juventus.
Top scorer was Ciro Immobile with 26 goals (23 in A).
Atalanta went on to have an excellent season and finished 4th, qualifying for the Europa League. After today the Nerazzurri won 21 (including Inter and Roma 2-1 at home, Napoli 2-0 and Genoa 5-0 away), drew 9 (including Milan 0-0 away and Juventus 2-2 at home) and lost 7 (including Lazio 1-2 away). Top scorer was Papu Gomez with 16 league goals.
In the Coppa Italia they reached the last 16 but lost 2-3 away to Juventus.
The 2016-17 Scudetto was won by Juventus for their 33rd title. The teams going down were Palermo, Empoli and Pescara.
Let’s talk about: Luca Germoni
Luca Germoni was born in Rome, on September 1, 1997.
At 15 he joined the Lazio youth academy and stayed until 2016. With the U19s he won a Coppa Italia and a Supercoppa. In the summer of 2016 he took part in the first team squad pre-season training camp and played in six friendlies (including Brighton and Borussia Mönchengladbach). He was also an unused substitute in Lazio's league debut, a 4-3 away win in Bergamo but a few days later he left.
He joined Ternana on loan for the rest of the season, in Serie B. He played regularly, making 29 appearances. The managers were Benito Carbone, Carmine Gautieri and finally former Lazio player Fabio Liverani. The Rossoverdi finished 18th.
In 2017 he went to Parma on loan, in B. He only stayed until January, making 5 league appearances under Roberto D'Aversa.
In January he moved to Perugia on loan, again in B. He played 6 league games under Roberto Breda. The Umbri finished 8th and lost in the playoffs to Venezia 0-3.
In 2018 Lazio sold him to Virtus Entella from Chiavari. The Ligurians were in Serie C. Germoni only stayed until January, playing 10 league games under Roberto Boscaglia. The "Diavoli Neri" went on to win the league and promotion.
In January he joined Juve Stabia on loan (Castellammare-Naples) in Serie C. He played 11 league games with 1 goal under Fabio Caserta and the "Vespe" (Wasps) finished 1st and promoted.
In the summer Lazio bought him back but then sold him to Juve Stabia where he stayed the following year in Serie B and played 21 league games but the Gialloblu finished 19th and relegated.
In 2020 he joined Reggiana in Serie B but only played one league game under Massimiliano Alvini before leaving in January.
He moved to Como in Serie C on loan but never played. The Lariani however were promoted, winning the league under Giacomo Gattuso.
In November 2021 he went to Südtirol in Serie C but made no appearances before coming back to Rome for family reasons and then playing at amateur level with DuePiGrecoRoma and Aranova (on the coast near Rome) where he still plays.
Germoni played once for Italy U18s (in 2015 while at Lazio).
He is a defender (1.76 and 65 kilos). After a promising start his career never really took off. The highlight was probably winning the league and promotion to Serie B with Juve Stabia.
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