January 11, 2020: Lazio Napoli 1-0
- Dag Jenkins
- 5 hours ago
- 10 min read
A Colombian and a Neapolitan sink Napoli
Lazio not at their best but Ospina mistake and Immobile opportunism give them late winner
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished 8th under Simone Inzaghi. The Biancocelesti however had triumphed in the Coppa Italia. On May 15 they had beaten Atalanta 2-0 to lift the cup for the 7th time.
This year Inzaghi had stayed on with a few changes to the squad. The main players arriving were Slovak Denis Vavro (F.C Copenhagen), Spanish winger Jony (Malaga), midfielder Manuel Lazzari (SPAL) plus young Dutch forward Bobby Adekanye (former Liverpool).
Leaving Lazio were Serbian defender Dušan Basta after five good years (retiring), Brazilian Wallace (Braga), midfielder Milan Badelj (Fiorentina) and Romulo (Genoa-end of loan), plus two Portuguese youngsters Bruno Jordão and Pedro Neto (Wolverhampton). The sale of the latter would later be regretted as he turned out to be a useful winger. The former, despite his promising name, has not made it.
Lazio so far were having a wonderful season. After an up and down start (3 wins, 2 defeats and 2 draws-including derby 1-1) the Biancocelesti had improved. The turning point had been a 3-3 home draw against Atalanta when Lazio came back from 0-3 down in the last 20 minutes. They had since won 9 consecutive games (including Milan 2-1 away, after 30 years and Juventus 3-1 at home). Lazio were now in 3rd position on 40 points and gaining consensus as potential title challengers. Juventus and Inter were top on 45 points but Lazio had a game in hand (Lazio vs Verona on February 5).
Lazio had also won the Supercoppa Italiana. On December 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Biancocelesti had defeated Juventus 3-1 again to lift the trophy for the fifth time.
In the Europa League things had not gone so well. In their group the Biancocelesti had only won two (Rennes 2-1and Cluj 1-0, both at home) and lost four (Celtic home and away 1-2, both with last gasp winners, Cluj 0-1 and Rennes 0-2 away). Lazio were out but had seemed to be prioritising the league all along.
Lazio's Coppa Italia campaign would start in three days’ time at home against Cremonese.
Napoli had finished 2nd the previous season (11 points behind champions Juventus). Under Carlo Ancelotti the Azzurri had won 24, drawn 7 and lost 7. They had defeated Lazio 2-1 both in Rome and in Naples. The top scorer was Arkadiusz Milik with 20 goals (17 in A).
This season the manager was initially Carlo Ancelotti (W5, D6, L4) but he had been replaced by Gennaro Gattuso after the 15th fixture. The main new arrivals were defenders Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Empoli), Kostas Manolas (Roma), midfielders Elif Elmas (Fenerbaçhe) plus forwards Fernando Llorente (Tottenham) and Hirving Lozano (PSV).
Leaving Naples were defender Raul Albiol (Villarreal), midfielder Amadou Diawara (Roma) plus forwards Adam Ounas (Nice-on loan), and Simone Verdi (Torino).
So far in Serie A the Partenopei were joint 8th with Torino on 24 points. They had won 6, drawn 6 and lost 6 (including recent 1-3 at home to Inter).
In the Champions League they had got through the first group stage. They had won 3 (Liverpool 2-0, Genk 4-0 at home and Salzburg 3-2 away) and drawn 3 (Genk 0-0, Liverpool 1-1 away and Salzburg 1-1 at home). They would now play Barcelona in the last 16 in February-March.
In Coppa the Partenopei too would start on January 14, at home against Perugia.
A tricky game for Lazio today. Napoli were struggling in the league but they were potentially dangerous with several top-class players. Lazio however were also hoping to set a new club record of ten consecutive victories.
The match: Saturday, January 11, 2020, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A Saturday 6 p.m. kick-off attracted about 45,000 spectators to the Olimpico. There was a party atmosphere both for Lazio's form but also for the recent 120th anniversary of the club (January 9 1900).
Lazio were missing midfielder Marco Parolo and forward Joaquín Correa while Napoli had to do without defenders Kalidou Koulibaly and Nikola Maksimović plus forward Dries Mertens. Heavy absences for both sides.
Lazio and Napoli have similar colours so tonight the visitors wore their olive green away kit.
The first shot was for the Neapolitans as Lorenzo Insigne curled in a freekick from the left that Thomas Strakosha tipped over the bar.
Then it was Allan who threatened, he ran forward undisturbed, skipped past Stefan Radu but then his final shot flew over the bar.
Lazio's first opportunity was a powerful, low Sergej Milinkovic-Savic strike but David Ospina was safe. A few minutes later Milinkovic-Savic then had another chance but after an acrobatic but clumsy defensive clearance he mishit his volley from a good position and Ospina slapped it away.
Halftime came with the game goalless. Napoli had started better but Lazio had gradually grown into the game. A tight contest so far with both XI's tactically well positioned on the field.
The second half started with an ambitious Ciro Immobile low, long range effort but Ospina saved comfortably.
Napoli then had the biggest chance so far. Polish midfielder Piotr Zielínski from just inside the area on the left curled a glorious shot which Strakosha got his finger tips to and the ball then came back off the post.
Lazio were in difficulty and in the 64th minute replaced forward Felipe Caicedo with midfielder Danilo Cataldi. Milinkovic-Savic moved slightly further upfield.
Napoli were in a good moment and insisted. Insigne weaved his way forward and inside the box hit a low, cross goal shot which Strakosha did well on, diving down and parrying with one hand.
Lazio did not create much in the second half with Napoli on top for long periods. Simone Inzaghi moved Milinkovic-Savic further back again as he realised Lazio were unbalanced. In the 81st minute the Biancocelesti took off Lucas Leiva for Valon Berisha and a minute later everything changed.
In the 82nd minute Ospina received a back pass on the left of the area and was pressed by Immobile. The Colombian keeper tried to dribble the striker from Torre Annunziata but was dispossessed, Ciro still had a lot to do as he was in an angled position, still quite near the white line of the penalty area on the left, but he turned quickly and shot at goal where Giovanni Di Lorenzo touched it but could not prevent it from going in, 1-0. A gift from Ospina but Immobile had taken it very well.
Napoli then made two more changes: forward Fernando Llorente for Allan (83') and Eljif Elmas for José Maria Callejon (88').
After Lazio's goal the game was far from over. Napoli had a dangerous, low, long range shot by Arkadiusz Milik saved into corner by Strakosha.
Lazio now had space on the break and Immobile almost got his double on a clever through ball by Manuel Lazzari but Ospina was feeling less generous and dived to his left and parried.
The last chance fell to Napoli as they went extremely close to an equaliser. Elmas crossed from the right, Milinkovic-Savic headed away, only as far as Insigne who let the ball drop and struck a perfectly timed volley but Strakosha pulled off another great save, diving low to his right and parrying away.
In the 91st minute Insigne went off for Hirving Lozano and that in a way was the sign of Napoli surrendering. After three minutes of added time the referee blew up. Full time Lazio 1 Napoli 0. The party could continue.
A hard-fought and at a certain point unhoped for win. Lazio had found a way to win even when they had not been at their best. Another sign that it could well be Lazio's year. Lazio were still 3rd on 42 points (with a game in hand) but had gained two on 2nd placed Inter on 46 while Juve were leaders on 48.
Napoli had played well, had their chances and for prolonged spells been in control of the game (72% possession in second half) but lost. The goalkeepers had made the difference, an Ospina blunder and several Strakosha stops had given Lazio the win. Napoli were now joint 11th, on 24 points with Udinese.
Who played for Lazio
Strakosha, Luiz Felipe, Acerbi, Radu, Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic, Leiva (81' Berisha), Luis Alberto (90' Jony), Lulic, Caicedo (64' Cataldi), Immobile
Manager: S.Inzaghi
Who played for Napoli
Ospina, Hysaj, Manolas, Di Lorenzo, Mario Rui, Allan (83' Llorente), Fabian Ruiz, Zielinski, Callejon (88' Elmas), Milik, Insigne (91' Lozano)
Substitutes: Karnezis, Daniele, Luperto, Tonelli, Gaetano
Manager: Gattuso
Referee: Orsato
Goal: 82' Immobile
What happened next
Lazio continued flying until the end of February. Between today's game and February 29, Lazio won another 6 games (including Inter 2-1) and drew 2 (including the derby 1-1). Lazio were 2nd (only one point behind Juventus) playing great football and regarded by many as favourites for the Scudetto. The table read; Juventus 63, Lazio 62. Inter 57. Then at the beginning of March disaster struck, COVID-19.
The world and consequently football were locked down for several months. The league then restarted in July in empty stadiums. The pandemic swept away Lazio's hopes. The Lazio that returned after lockdown were no longer the seemingly unstoppable machine they had been up to late February. The fast and furious fixture list then penalised Lazio's limited numbered squad which was also struck by injury.
Lazio then won 5, drew 1 and lost 6 and ended up 4th. The consolations were qualifying for the Champions League after a thirteen-year absence and having Ciro Immobile win the European Golden Boot with 36 league goals (39 in total).
In Coppa Italia, Lazio beat Cremonese 4-0 but then were eliminated in the quarterfinals by today's opposition Napoli, 0-1 in Naples.
Napoli finished 7th (EL). After today they won 12 (including Lazio 3-1 and Juventus 2-1 at home), drew 2 and lost 6. The top scorer in all competitions was Dries Mertens with 16 goals while only in A it was Milik with 11.
In the Champions League Napoli drew 1-1 at home with Barcelona. Due to COVID-19 the return leg was not played until August 8 and Napoli lost 1-3.
The Azzurri however lifted silverware as they won the Coppa Italia. They defeated Perugia 2-0, Lazio 1-0, Inter 2-1 (on aggregate) and in the final Juventus on penalties after a 0-0 draw.
With Juventus Serie A champions the other verdicts were: Serie B for Lecce, SPAL and Brescia while the Champions League was won by Bayern Munich (after a Final-Eight tournament in Lisbon in August).
Let's talk about Rino Gattuso
Today in our opponents' series we will talk about a World Champion as a player and current Italy head coach.
Gennaro Ivan Gattuso, known as Rino, was born in Corigliano Calabro, on January 9, 1978. His father had also been a football player, in Serie D.
At 12 he joined the Perugia academy, won the Primavera (U19s) Scudetto twice and then debuted for the first team in 1995. He stayed two more years with the Umbri. In the first he only played 2 league games but the won promotion to Serie A under Walter Novellino and then Giovanni Galeone. In the second he played 8 league games in A first under Galeone and then Nevio Scala but the Biancorossi were relegated.
In 1997 he left Italy and joined Glasgow Rangers in Scotland. In his first season he played 40 total games with 4 goals. The Gers finished 2nd and were also runners- up in the Scottish Cup under Walter Smith. The following season Gattuso started in Glasgow, under Dick Advocaat, but left in October after another 11 games with 1 goal. It was in Glasgow that he met his future wife Monica Romano whose family ran an Italian restaurant there.
In October 1998 Gattuso returned to Italy and played for Salernitana for a season. The Granata were in Serie A but ended up relegated. They started under Delio Rossi and finished with Francesco Oddo. Gattuso played 25 league games. His teammates included former Lazio, Marco Di Vaio (1991-95).
In 1999 Gattuso moved to what would be his main club A.C Milan. He stayed 13 highly successful seasons. The Rossoneri won the Scudetto twice (2004, 2011), a Coppa Italia (2003), the Supercoppa Italiana twice (2004, 2011), the Champions League twice (2003, 2007), the UEFA Super Cup twice (2003, 2007) and a FIFA Club World Cup (2007). He played a total of 468 games with 11 goals. His managers included Alberto Zaccheroni, Mauro Tassotti, Fatih Terim, Carlo Ancelotti (for 8 seasons), Leonardo and Massimiliano Allegri. His teammates included Lazio connections: Valerio Fiori (1986-93), Flavio Roma (1991-93, 1994-95) Beppe Favalli (1992-2004), Alessandro Nesta (1993-2002), José Chamot (1994-98), Beppe Pancaro (1997-2003), Christian Vieri (1998-99), Hernan Crespo (2000-02), Jaap Stam (2001-04), Massimo Oddo (2002-07), Demetrio Albertini (2003-04), Cristian Brocchi (2008-13) and Alessandro Matri (2015-16).
In 2012-13 he left Milan and played one last season with Sion as player-manager in Switzerland. He played 32 games with 1 goal and the Rouge et Blanc finished 6th but Gattuso was sacked in May.
He then retired but continued as a manager. He started with Palermo in Serie B in 2013 but was sacked in September after 6 league games.
In August 2014 he took charge of OFI Crete in the Greek top flight but resigned in December.
In 2015 he became manager of Pisa in Lega Pro (3rd tier) and won promotion to Serie B. The following year he stayed on but the Nerazzurri were relegated.
In November 2017 he replaced Vincenzo Montella at Milan after the 14th fixture. He led the Rossoneri to a 6th place (EL) and a Coppa Italia final (lost 0-4 to Juventus) while in the Europa League they reached the last 16 (Arsenal 1-5 on aggregate). He stayed the following season and finished 5th (then excluded from Europe over financial fair play issues).
In December 2019 he replaced Carlo Ancelotti at Napoli from the 16th fixture onwards. The Partenopei finished 7th (EL) and won the Coppa Italia (Juventus on penalties). Napoli reached the last 16 of Champions League (Barcelona 2-4 on aggregate). He remained at Napoli in 2020-21 and finished 5th (EL). They lost the Supercoppa final (Juventus 0-2).
In 2022 he became manager of Valencia but parted ways by mutual consent in January.
In late September 2023 he took over at Marseilles but was then replaced himself in mid-February.
In 2024-25 he was manager of Hajduk Split in Croatia and finished 3rd.
On June 15, 2025 he was somewhat surprisingly named the Italy manager after the sacking of Luciano Spalletti. Gattuso now has the difficult job of trying to qualify for the 2026 World Cup via the playoffs in March. If he fails it will be Italy's third consecutive absence from a tournament they have won four times.
As a player Gattuso was a defensive midfielder. He based everything on his energy, physical resistance, character and tackling abilities. He was a master of regaining possession and had good leadership qualities, often making him captain of his clubs. He was nicknamed "Ringhio" (Growl/Snarl) for his gritty and dogged style of play.
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