Good start

Simon Basten
Sep 26, 2023
2 min read

Season 2020-21

Game 1, Serie A

Saturday, September 26, 2020

Sardegna Arena, Cagliari

Cagliari Lazio 0-2

Lazio easily beat Cagliari thanks to Lazzari and Immobile

Today was the first Serie A fixture for Lazio. They should have played their first match against Atalanta on September 20 but due to the fact that all the teams that had played in the European competitions had finished the season much later than the others, the Italian Federation had granted them an extra week before starting the new season.

The match

Four minutes and Lazio were already ahead. Joaquin Correa to Adam Marusic on the left, he dribbled past Paolo Faragò and from the by-line crossed into the middle where Manuel Lazzzari was ready for the tap-in and the Biancocelesti’s first goal of the season.

Lazio pushed for a second and in the 13th minute went close with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic who on a Luis Alberto corner headed the ball towards the goal but Marko Rog saved very close to the line.

Cagliari started to be more dangerous and in the 25th minute Thomas Strakosha was forced to save a Rog shot when Lazio failed to clear the area properly. But eight minutes later Lazio should have closed the game. Long ball from Marusic to Milinkovic-Savic who avoided Charalampos Lykogiannis but Alessio Cragno managed to stop both the big Serb and Lazzari, ball again to Sergej who crossed for the upcoming Correa who tried a header which hit the woodwork and then Ciro Immobile was unable to convert the simple tap in. Immobile had another chance in the 42nd minute but again Cragno parried.

Three minutes into the second half and Cagliari should have equalised. Joao Pedro from outside the box tried a shot which Strakosha parried, Giovanni Simeone completely alone in front of the keeper managed to kick the ball out. In the 65th minute Milinkovic-Savic tried a curling shot from outside the box but Cragno saved into corner. Two minutes later again Cagliari dangerous with Sebastian Walukiewicz who on a Lykogiannis free kick was unable to convert a sitter.

In the 74th minute the Biancocelesti closed the game. Marusic went off on the left, ball to Immobile in the box and 2-0 for Lazio.

That was it. Good start for the Biancocelesti.

Who played for Cagliari

Cragno, Faragò (80' Zappa), Klavan, Waluikiewicz, Lykogiannis (87' Tripaldelli), Nandez, Marin (70' Caligara), Rog, Sottil (80' Despodov), Simeone (80' Pavoletti), Joao Pedro

Substitutes: Aresti, Vicario, Godin, Pinna, Carboni, Pajac, Pisacane, Oliva, Ladinetti

Manager: Di Francesco

Who played for Lazio

Strakosha, Patric, Acerbi, Radu (89’ Parolo), Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic (70’ Akpa Akpro), Leiva (63’ Escalante), Luis Alberto (89’ Cataldi), Marusic, Correa (70’ Caicedo), Immobile