January 8, 2017: Lazio Crotone 1-0
- Simon Basten
- Jan 8
- 10 min read
Win at the very last second
Immobile scores in the 90th minute to give Lazio a well-deserved win
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had not done well. They lost the Champions League preliminary round against Bayer Leverkusen and never quite got to grips with the disappointment.
Manager Stefano Pioli, who had done so well in 2014-15, showed signs of confusion and was unable to stimulate the players. He was sacked with seven games to go and replaced by Simone Inzaghi, former star of the 2000 scudetto team and manager of the primavera. He did not do too badly in those seven games, but Lazio did not qualify for any European Cup.
President Claudio Lotito and sporting director Igli Tare then had the idea to sign Marcelo Bielsa as new manager. El Loco signed the contract and two days later resigned, citing differences with Tare and Lotito over the summer transfers as the reason. Apparently, rumour has it that once the news of him coaching Lazio started to spread, he got some calls from friends in Rome who were convincing enough to make him change his mind.
The Biancocelesti were without a coach and needed one quickly, so Simone Inzaghi, who was about to sign for Salernitana, was chosen.
The good news was that a new Lazio star was born: Ciro Immobile, who arrived from Sevilla in the summer, was scoring regularly and had become a fundamental asset. Also debuting in the first team was goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha who substituted an injured Federico Marchetti. Keita Balde was also having a very good season and scoring.
Other new entries included defenders Bastos (Rostov), Jordan Lukaku (Oostende), Wallace (Braga) and midfielder Luís Alberto (Liverpool). Leaving Lazio were 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).
Lazio were doing well. They were currently fourth and just one point off third place held by Napoli.
The match: Sunday, January 8, 2017, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Lazio tried to find a hole in the Calabrian defensive net right from the start and in the 14th minute Ciro Immobile had a shot from a difficult deflected into corner. Two minutes later the Biancocelesti scored. Splendid cross from Luis Alberto towards the far post, in came Cristiano Lombardi who volleyed the ball in, alas, in a very slight offside position so no goal. In the 24th minute Lucas Biglia for Lombardi who found Immobile in the box, his shot was saved into corner by Marco Festa. Five minutes later Lombardi was fouled in the area by Adrien Stoian and the ref indicated a penalty. Biglia took the spot kick, big whack, crossbar!!!
Crotone responded with the second biggest chance of the match. In the 35th minute Bruno Martella crossed into the box, Marcello Trotta missed the ball, but this allowed Diego Falcinelli to be one-on-one with Federico Marchetti. His volley was however parried by the Lazio keeper.
Towards the end of the first half a splendid volley from Marco Parolo was miraculously palmed into corner by Festa who had previously saved his goal again on a dangerous shot from the Italian midfielder.
Lazio continued to attack in the second half and Stefan de Vrij went close with a header in the 58th minute after a corner kick.
Simone Inzaghi tried everything and threw in Riccardo Kishna for Lombardi in the 77th minute and the Dutchman had a chance shortly after but again Festa parried.
Finally, Lazio scored in the 90th minute. Alessandro Rossi, debuting in Serie A, to Sergej Milinkovic-Savic who was anticipated by Martella. The ball fell into the box and in came Immobile who gave Festa no chance and the Biancocelesti were ahead.
A well-deserved win.
Who played for Lazio
Marchetti, Basta, de Vrij, Hoedt, Radu, Parolo, Biglia (81’ Cataldi), Milinikovic-Savic, Lombardi (77’ Kishna), Immobile, Luis Alberto (81’ Rossi)
Manager: Inzaghi
Who played for Crotone
Festa, Sampirisi, Ceccherini, Ferrari, Martella (92' Nwankwo), Rohden, Crisetig, Barberis, Stoian (51' Palladino), Falcinelli, Trotta (81' Rosi)
Substitutes: Salzano, Nalini, Capezzi, Viscovo, Suljic, Cojocaru, Dussenne, Gnahore
Manager: Nicola
Referee: Maresca
Goal: 90’ Immobile
What happened next
Back into Europe was the objective for the 2016-2017 season and back into Europe it would be, thanks to a good fifth place. It could have been fourth place, but the team threw in the towel once European football was secured. After beating Sampdoria 7-3, they lost the last three games.
In Coppa Italia they did very well reaching the final. They beat Genoa, Inter away, Roma winning 2-0 at home and losing 3-2 away. But in the final, they lost to Juventus 2-0.
Immobile was the leading scorer for Serie A with 23 goals, his second win, first with Lazio.
This was the last season for Biglia and Keita with Lazio. In the following years neither would repeat the standards reached with Lazio.
What happened in Serie A 2016-17
The previous season had seen Juventus win their fifth consecutive scudetto ahead of Napoli and Roma. At the end of the first round of fixtures Napoli were ahead with a two-point lead over the Bianconeri and Inter. Juve had taken the lead in the 25th fixture with a win in Turin over Napoli and had gone +3 two games later. The lead doubled in match 31 and went to +9 two games later. The scudetto had been secured with three games to spare.
In the summer transfer window, Juventus had sold Paul Pogba to Manchester United and Alvaro Morata to Real Madrid but secured Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli and Miralem Pjanic from Roma. Lazio had signed Ciro Immobile.
August & September
Juventus, despite losing away to Inter, started well and took the lead also winning in Rome against Lazio. They were followed closely by Napoli and Roma.
In August there was the playoff round for the Champions League Group stage. Roma were beaten 4-1 on aggregate despite drawing the first leg away. In September Napoli beat both Dynamo Kyiv and Benfica, Juventus drew with Sevilla but beat Dinamo Zagreb.
In late July and early August Sassuolo played in the Europa League Third Round qualifying eliminating Luzern 4-1 on aggregate. In the play-off round they beat Red Star Belgrade again 4-1 on aggregate qualifying for the group stage. In the first two games of the latter, Roma drew away with Viktoria Plzen and beat Astra Giugiu, Sassuolo won against Atheltic Bilbao but lost to Genk, Fiorentina drew with PAOK away and beat Qarabag 5-1 at home, Inter lost both to Hapoel and Sparta Prague.
Juventus 15, Napoli 14, Inter 11, Roma 10, Lazio 10, Milan 10, Chievo 10, Bologna 10, Sassuolo 9, Torino 8, Genoa 8*, Fiorentina 8*, Cagliari 7, Udinese 7, Pescara 6, Atalanta 6, Sampdoria 6, Palermo 5, Empoli 4, Crotone 1
* one match in hand
October
Juventus went off and after 11 games already had a good four-point advantage but again lost in Milan, this time to the Rossoneri. They were followed by Roma, who beat Inter and won in Naples, and by Milan. Below there was already a substantial gap between the last four – Pescara, Empoli, Palermo and Crotone – and the rest of the field.
In Champions League Napoli surprisingly lost at home 3-2 against Besiktas while Juventus won away at Lyon. In Europa League, Roma drew at home with Austria Wien, Sassuolo away to Rapid Wien, Fiorentina beat Slovan Liberec and Inter Southampton.
Juventus 27, Roma 23, Milan 22, Lazio 21, Napoli 20, Atalanta 19, Torino 16, Fiorentina 16*, Cagliari 16, Genoa 15*, Chievo 15, Inter 14, Udinese 14, Sampdoria 14, Bologna 13, Sassuolo 13, Pescara 7, Empoli 7, Palermo 6, Crotone 5
* one match in hand
November
Juventus had reached +7 but lost the last game of the month at Genoa. Milan drew the derby 2-2.
In Champions League Napoli drew away with Besiktas and at home with Dynamo Kyiv. The table read Napoli and Benfica 8 points, Besiktas 7. All they needed to do was not to lose in Portugal to be assured of qualification to the knockout round.
Juventus drew at home with Lyon but won away in Seville. They were leading their group on 11 points with Sevilla on 10 and Lyon 7.
In Europa League Roma won away to Austria Wien and at home with Viktoria Plzen qualifying first with one game to spare. Sassuolo drew at home with Rapid Wien and lost away with Athletic Bilbao and were eliminated with one game left. Fiorentina beat Slovan Liberec but lost at home to PAOK. They led their group with 10 points, PAOK and Qarabag 7. All they needed was a draw in the last game to qualify first. Inter were also out having lost to both Southampton and Hapoel.
The fourth round of Coppa Italia determined who would be playing the top eight teams and these were Spezia, Chievo, Torino, Atalanta, Bologna, Genoa, Cesena and Sampdoria
Juventus 33, Roma 29, Milan 29, Lazio 28, Atalanta 28, Torino 25, Napoli 25, Inter 21, Fiorentina 20*, Genoa 19*, Sampdoria 19, Cagliari 19, Chievo 18, Bologna 16, Udinese 15, Sassuolo 14, Empoli 10, Pescara 7, Crotone 6, Palermo 6
* one match in hand
December
Juventus continued leading, also winning the Turin derby. They beat Roma and now even had a game in hand as two matches were postponed due to the Supercoppa. Roma won the Rome derby. Below there were still four teams battling it out to stay in Serie A, Empoli with a slight advantage.
In Champions League, Napoli won away with Benfica and qualified first as did Juventus after beating Dinamo Zagreb. Roma, who had already qualified first in the group drew away with Astra Giurgiu, Sassuolo, already out of the tournament, lost at home with Genk, Fiorentina won away with Qarabag securing first place, Inter, also out, beat Sparta Prague.
Milan won the Supercoppa, beating Juventus on penalties in the final in Doha. The 90 minutes had ended 1-1.
Juventus 42*, Roma 38, Napoli 35, Lazio 34, Milan 33*, Atalanta 32, Inter 30, Torino 28, Fiorentina 27, Udinese 25, Chievo 25, Genoa 23, Sampdoria 23, Cagliari 23, Bologna 20*, Sassuolo 17, Empoli 14, Palermo 10, Crotone 9*, Pescara 9
* one match in hand
January
Juventus lost in Florence and Roma crept up to just -1, even if the Bianconeri still had a game in hand. But the four-point lead was re-established a couple of games later as Roma lost to Sampdoria and Juve won at Sassuolo.
In the Coppa Italia Round of 16, Napoli, Fiorentina, Milan, Juventus, Inter (aet), Lazio, Cesena and Roma eliminated Spezia, Chievo, Torino, Atalanta, Bologna, Genoa, Sassuolo and Sampdoria. In the quarter finals, Napoli beat Fiorentina, Juventus won against Milan, Lazio won away to Inter and Roma beat Cesena with a 97th minute penalty. There would be a Rome derby semifinal.
Juventus 51, Roma 47, Napoli 45, Inter 42, Lazio 40, Atalanta 39, Milan 37*, Fiorentina 34*, Torino 31, Udinese 28, Chievo 28, Sampdoria 27, Bologna 27*, Cagliari 27, Genoa 25, Sassuolo 24, Empoli 21, Crotone 13*, Palermo 11, Pescara 9
* one match in hand
February
Fixture 23 saw Napoli bury Bologna 7-1; Lazio did the same in Pescara winning 6-2 and Roma destroyed Fiorentina 4-0. Juventus played the game that had been postponed and won at Crotone taking their lead to +7 and de facto ending the run for the scudetto. Roma were strong contenders for second place with Lazio and Atalanta still having hopes for Champions League qualification. Below, it all seemed settled with Empoli now +7 on the relegation zone.
In the Champions League Round of 16 first leg Napoli lost 3-1 to with Real Madrid while Juventus won 2-0 away in Porto. In the Europa League Round of 32 first leg, Roma won away 4-0 against Villarreal and Fiorentina at Borussia Monchengladbach. In the second round, Roma lost 1-0 at home and Fiorentina were eliminated despite being 2-0 after half an hour. They collapsed 4-2.
In the first leg of the Coppa Italia semifinal, Juventus beat Napoli 3-1.
Juventus 66, Roma 59, Napoli 54, Atalanta 51, Lazio 50, Inter 48, Milan 47, Fiorentina 41, Torino 36, Sampdoria 35, Chievo 35, Cagliari 31, Sassuolo 30, Udinese 29, Bologna 28, Genoa 26, Empoli 22, Palermo 15, Crotone 13, Pescara 12
March
Napoli beat Roma, reduced the gap with second place and consolidated their Champions League position. Four teams battling it out for the Europa League places with Lazio leading the pack.
Juventus qualified for the Champions League quarter finals after also winning the second leg of the Round of 16 against Porto. Napoli instead lost 3-1 to Real Madrid and were out. Roma were eliminated in Europa League by Lyon 5-4 on aggregate.
In the other Coppa Italia semifinal, Lazio beat Roma 2-0.
Juventus 73, Roma 65, Napoli 63, Lazio 57, Inter 55, Atalanta 55, Milan 53, Fiorentina 48, Sampdoria 41, Torino 40, Chievo 38, Udinese 36, Bologna 34, Cagliari 32, Sassuolo 31, Genoa 29, Empoli 22, Palermo 15, Crotone 14, Pescara 12
April
Inter and Milan drew their derby and Lazio won the Roman one. Behind Crotone had a rush of energy and were now only four points behind Empoli with Palermo and Pescara relegated.
In the Champions League quarter final Juventus demolished Barcelona 3-0 in the first leg at home and managed to draw 0-0 away hence qualifying for the semi-final.
The Coppa Italia final would be between Juventus and Lazio. They both lost the second legs of the semi-finals, but the advantage obtained in the first leg was enough to go through.
Juventus 84, Roma 75, Napoli 74, Lazio 67, Atalanta 64, Milan 59, Inter 56, Fiorentina 55, Torino 49, Sampdoria 46, Udinese 43, Chievo 41, Cagliari 41, Sassuolo 39, Bologna 38, Genoa 30, Empoli 29, Crotone 25, Palermo 19, Pescara 14
May
While Lazio demolished Sampdoria 7-3, Juventus drew the derby and then lost 3-1 to Roma, allowing the Giallorossi to go to -4 with two games left. A win against Crotone was thenenough to secure the scudetto with one match to go. By this time all European qualifications were settled with Roma and Napoli joining the Bianconeri in Champions League, Lazio, Atalanta and Milan in Europa League.
Below the battle continued. With 90 minutes left, Empoli had a single point advantage over Crotone with the last two games being Palermo-Empoli and Crotone-Lazio. The Sicilians, despite already being in Serie B, won. Crotone, faced with a team that had given up once Europe was conquered, easily beat Lazio and were safe.
Edin Dzeko (Roma) was top scorer with 29 goals. Spal, Verona and Benevento were promoted from Serie B.
In Champions League Juventus won both semifinal ties against Monaco and qualified for the final where they would meet Real Madrid in Cardiff.
At the Stadio Olimpico, Juventus beat Lazio 2-0 in the final of the Coppa Italia.
Juventus 91, Roma 87, Napoli 86, Atalanta 72, Lazio 70, Milan 63, Inter 62, Fiorentina 60, Torino 53, Sampdoria 48, Cagliari 47, Sassuolo 46, Udinese 45, Chievo 43, Bologna 41, Genoa 36, Crotone 34, Empoli 32, Palermo 26, Pescara 18
June
In the Champions League final in Cardiff Real Madrid thrashed Juventus 4-1.
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