August 9 2025: Burnley-Lazio 0-1
- Dag Jenkins
- 7 hours ago
- 7 min read
Cancellieri conquers Turf Moor
An unspectacular but solid performance gives Lazio win in Lancashire
The season so far
The previous season under Marco Baroni Lazio had started well but then faded.
In Serie A they ended up 7th and so missed out on Europe for the first time in many years.
In their European campaign things began wonderfully and Lazio came top of the 36-team table (W6, D1, L1). They then eliminated Viktoria Plzen but then later lost to Bodo-Glimt on penalties in the quarter-finals.
In Coppa Italia the Biancocelesti went out against Inter 0-2 in the quarter-final.
The highlights of the season apart from the good European run were beating future Italian champions Napoli both away in the league and at home in Coppa Italia. Other good results in Serie A were away wins at Como 5-1, Milan 2-1 and Atalanta 1-0. Not enough however to salvage the season.
Marco Baroni then left at the end of the season by mutual consent.
For the 2025-26 season Maurizio Sarri returned. Unfortunately the club had been imposed a summer transfer market block so could not sign any new players. The only novelties were the returns of Danilo Cataldi (Fiorentina) and Matteo Cancellieri (Parma) from their loan periods.
Leaving were: Andrè Anderson (end of contract), Arjon Ibrahimović (Bayern - end of loan) and Loum Tchaouna (Burnley).
There was already friction between Sarri and the chairman Claudio Lotito as the Tuscan coach claimed he had not been informed of the situation.
Lazio had played four summer friendlies: Lazio Primavera (U19s) 3-0, Avellino 1-0, Fenerbahçe 0-1 and Galatasaray 2-2.
Lazio's Serie A campaign would start on August 24 away at Como.
Burnley were newly promoted to the Premier League. The Clarets had finished 2nd in the Championship under manager Scott Parker. The top scorer was captain Josh Brownhill with 18 league goals.
This season Parker had been confirmed. The club from Lancashire had been active on the transfer market. Arriving were: goalkeepers Martin Dúbravka (Newcastle United) and Max Wei§ (Karlsruher SC), defenders Quilindschy Hartman (Feyenoord), Axel Tuanzebe (Ipswich Town), Kyle Walker (Manchester City via Milan), midfielders Lesley Ugochukwu (Chelsea via Southampton), Florentino Luís (Benfica via Getafe) and Loum Tchaouna (Lazio) plus forwards Jacob Bruun Larsen (Stuttgart but already at Burnley on loan in 2023-24) and Armando Broja (Chelsea via Everton).
Leaving were: goalkeeper James Trafford (Manchester City), defender Hannes Delcroix (Swansea City on loan), midfielders Josh Brownhill (Al Shabab) and Nathan Redmond (Sheffield Wednesday).
Burnley had so far played five pre-season friendlies: Fleetwood Town 1-0, Wolves 1-1, Huddersfield Town 2-0, Shrewsbury Town 2-2 and Stoke City 0-1.
The Premier League would start on August 16 away at Tottenham.
Today was a step up in level for both sides, in a friendly connected to the Tchaouna deal.
The match: Saturday, August 9, 2025, Turf Moor, Burnley
A 3 pm kick off brought 11,000 to Turf Moor. The stadium is one of the oldest in existence and dates back to 1883. It now holds just over 22,000 spectators.
Despite their old style ground, today Burnley became the first club in history to live stream a game in immersive virtual reality. The broadcast offered viewers a virtual seat inside the ground with a panoramic view of the pitch, live commentary, ambient crowd noise and real time visuals including club branding and player kits. A taste of the future?
Lazio were missing defender Patric, midfielder Matias Vecino and Danish winger Gustav Isaksen but otherwise fielded a strong line-up.
Burnley's main absences were goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka, midfielders Florentino Luís and Lesley Ugochukwu plus forwards Zian Flemming and recent signing Armando Broja.
Burnley were on top in the first half. The Clarets were very tight and conceded very little to Lazio who were often forced to go back to Ivan Provedel. Burnley played on the break, using the width of the field well with Oliver Sonne and Quilindschy Hartman.
Lazio kept their order and positioning but Burnley had at least three chances to take the lead. First Provedel denied Jadon Anthony, then he slapped a Josh Cullen lob onto the crossbar and finally he was beaten by a Sonne header but saved by the crossbar.
The first 45 minutes ended goalless but Burnley would have deserved to be in front. Lazio played with discipline but lacked creativity in midfield where Nicolò Rovella and Matteo Guendouzi lacked the inspirational vertical pass.
At half time Lazio made three changes: Mario Gila for Manuel Lazzari, Luca Pellegrini for Nuno Tavares and Oliver Provstgaard for Alessio Romagnoli. The hosts only made one, replacing keeper Vácpav Hladky with Max Weiß.
Soon after the restart the home side hit their third post of the afternoon. Anthony was left unnmarked on the far post but his attempt came back off the woodwork.
In the 52nd minute Lazio had a huge chance to score as they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Boulaye Dia. Mattia Zaccagni stepped up but his poor effort was saved by Wei§.
In the 59th minute Lazio made five substitutions all at once, off went Provedel, Adam Marusic, Rovella, Zaccagni and Dia for Chrīstos Mandas, Elseid Hysaj, Danilo Cataldi, Pedro and Taty Castellanos.
The game then slowed down but in the 62nd minute Lazio struck a crossbar of their own. Pellegrini took a corner and Matteo Cancellieri rose up in the area but his header hit the woodwork.
In the 69th minute it was Burnley's turn to make significant changes: out went Kyle Walker, Hartman, Lyle Foster, Anthony and Sonne and in came Marcus Edwards, Lucas Pires, Loum Tchaouna, Luca Koleosho and Jacob Brun Larsen.
The pace of the game and all the substitutions appeared to favour Lazio and Cataldi and Castellanos also seemed to link up better than Rovella and Dia.
In the 75th minute Lazio scored. Fisayo Dele-Bashiru won a challenge in defence and fed Pedro who sent a perfect through ball to Cancellieri in space, the Roman ran forward, waited for the keeper to come out and coolly tucked it away with his left-foot, 0-1.
Lazio then made their last two substitutions, Toma Bašić for Dele-Bashiru and Tijjani Noslin for Cancellieri.
Burnley then attempted a final forcing but with fading energy were unable to threaten Lazio's well organized setup. Final score: Burnley 0 Lazio 1.
A good win for Lazio against Premier League opposition. A solid, compact and tactically organized performance. Hopefully with the return of Gustav Isaksen from injury and a match fitter Zaccagni they would be able to add some inventiveness to their game. Positive signs had come from Cancellieri and Dele-Bashiru who with the market block would have to step up and perform this season.
Burnley had played with energy and determination in the first half but then showed a worrying lack of quality once they tired. New signing Tchaouna had not impressed which hardly came as a surprise to Lazio fans.
Lazio had one more friendly, against Greeks Atromītos while for Burnley it was already Premier League time.
Who played for Burnley
Hladky (46' Weiß), Walker (69' Edwards), Hartman (69' Pires), Estève, Foster (69' Tchaouna), Anthony (69' Koleosho), Ekdal, Sonne (69' Larsen), Cullen, Hannibal, Laurent
Substitutes: Morrall, Barnes
Manager: Parker
Who played for Lazio
Provedel (59' Mandas), Lazzari (46' Gila), Marusic (59' Hysaj), Romagnoli (46' Provstgaard), Nuno Tavares (46' Pellegrini), Rovella (59' Cataldi), Dele-Bashiru (77' Basic), Guendouzi, Zaccagni (59' Pedro), Dia (59' Castellanos), Cancellieri (77' Noslin)
Substitutes: Furlanetto, Ruggeri
Manager: Sarri
Referee: Pawson
Goal : 75' Cancellieri
What happened next
In January Lazio were allowed to sign players again and in came: goalkeeper Edoardo Motta (Reggiana), midfielders Daniel Maldini (Atalanta - on loan), Adrian Przyborek (Pogoń Stettino) and Kenneth Taylor (Ajax) plus forward Petar Ratkov (Salzburg).
Some players also left: goalkeeper Chrīstos Mandas (Bournemouth - on loan), midfielders Mattéo Guendouzi (Fenerbahçe) and Matías Vecino (Celta Vigo) plus forward Valentín Castellanos (West-Ham Utd).
Lazio predictably had a mediocre season finishing 9th. The tension between the coach and the owner continued and in the winter the fans started a strike in protest against Lotito and abandoned the stadium until the end of the season.
Lazio however had a good Coppa Italia run and reached the final but lost 0-2 to a vastly superior Inter who had already won the Scudetto too.
Sarri obviously left at the end of the season and the strike continued. The future looked gloomy.
Burnley finished 19th and relegated. In late April Parker was sacked and replaced by Mike Jackson The Clarets only won 4 league games, drew 10 and lost 24. They went out in the 4th round of the FA Cup and in the 3rd of the EFL Cup. The top scorer was Zian Flemming with 12 goals (11 in league).
The Clarets will now play in the Championship under Belgian head coach Nick Hayen.
Let's talk about Oliver Provstgaard
Oliver Provstgaard Nielsen was born in Vejle, on June 4, 2003.
He started with Bredballe IF and then from 12 was formed in the Vejle academy. The club from were founded in 1891 and have won 6 league titles and 6 domestic cups. The most famous player to have worn their jersey is Allan Simonsen (Golden Ball in 1977 while with Borussia Mönchenglabach).
He made his debut for Vejle on April 14 2022 in a game against Odense. He played 5 games that season but "De Røde" relegated.
In 2022-23 he played regularly in the 2nd tier making 36 total appearances with 2 goals, helping Vejle to win the league and promotion.
In 2023-24 he played 32 games and Vejle finished 11th (out of 12) and then 3rd in the relegation round (out of 6 so safe).
In 2024-25 he had played 16 games when in February 2025 he signed for Lazio.
At Lazio the manager was Marco Baroni and Prostvgaard was a reserve to Mario Gila and Alessio Romagnoli. He only played 2 league games but did well on his debut in a 1-0 away win at Atalanta. Lazio finished 7th and reached the EL quarterfinals.
In 2025-26 Maurizio Sarri returned as manager and Provstgaard played more regularly. He made 27 total appearances and Lazio finished 9th but were runners-up in the Coppa Italia.
For the 2026-27 season Rino Gattuso is manager and with the departure of Mario Gila to Milan the Dane should become first choice at the back.
Provstgaard is a central defender. He is 1.94 so obviously good in the air. He can play the ball too but is at his best in the siege situation. It remains to be seen how well he can cope when play is more open and faster. This season could be a crucial one for the big Dane's career.
He has played for Denmark at all levels; U16 (3 games, 1 goal), U17s (9 games), U18s (1 game, 1 goal), U19s (3 games), U20s (2 games, 1 goal), U21s (24 games, 3 goals). He is captain of the U21s but has also won 2 full caps for Denmark (North Macedonia, DR Congo).
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
2024-25 | 2 | 2 | - |
2025-26 | 27 | 26 | 1 |
Total | 29 | 28 | 1 |
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