No contest

Season 2016-17

Game 33, Serie A

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Lazio-Palermo 6-2

Too easy for Lazio with five goals in first twenty-five minutes against a depressed Palermo 

Source Lazio Wiki

The season had started with a 4-3 away win at Atalanta followed by a 0-1 home defeat by Juventus and a 1-1 away draw at Chievo Verona. Since then, Lazio had won 17 (including Palermo 1-0), drawn 6 and lost 6 (including derby 0-2). Lazio were currently in 4th place, on 60 points. A week earlier the Biancocelesti had drawn 2-2 away to Genoa with an injury time Luís Alberto equaliser.

Two different states of minds for the two opponents today. Lazio doing well and Palermo practically doomed. A match da "uno fisso" (home win) as they say in Italy.

The match: Sunday, April 23, 2017, Stadio Olimpico, Rome

A warm and sunny day in Rome saw about 30,000 spectators present.

Lazio had no real injury problems while Palermo were without defenders Haitam Aleesami and Roberto Vitiello plus forward Carlos Embalo.

Lazio looked determined, Palermo did not. The Sicilians tactical set up was a 3-4-2-1 so not particularly defensive.

Lazio went in front almost immediately. In the 8th minute on a Lucas Biglia corner, Stefan de Vrij headed towards the far post where Ciro Immobile was perfectly positioned to nod in. Lazio 1 Palermo 0.

Two minutes later Ciro struck again. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic charged down the left, squared back to Ciro who ran in and surgically placed the ball in the far bottom corner, 2-0.

There was no reaction from the Sicilians so the Romans continued to party. Marco Parolo went close but his shot was cleared off the line by Sunjic. In the 21st minute de Vrij set up Keita Balde who dribbled past Sunjic and Gonzalez and put the ball in the left corner, 3-0.

Keita was the protagonist again three minutes later. In the 24th minute he was fouled by Michel Morganella for a penalty. The Senegalese took it himself, the ball went under Josip Posavec who got a touch too but 4-0.

In the 25th minute Palermo changed set up and passed to a more prudent 3-5-2, with midfielder Bruno Henrique coming on for forward Roland Sallai.

The goals kept coming and two minutes later Keita got his hat-trick. In the 26th minute Biglia to Immobile who brilliantly backheeled to Keita who chipped the keeper coming out, 5-0.

For the statistic lovers this was the first time a team had scored five goals in the first 26 minutes since 1938 (Juventus-Fiorentina 5-0). It was also 20 years since Lazio had scored five goals in the first half (Reggiana at home in 1997).

The game then became more of a training exercise and Lazio took their foot off the accelerator. Half time came with Lazio cruising, 5-0.

For the second half Lazio took off Parolo who was one yellow card away from suspension and the next game was the derby. Jordan Lukaku came on in his place.

In the 46th minute, with Lazio's Dutch defenders still mentally in the changing rooms, Palermo scored. A De Vrij mistake let Andrea Rispoli through to beat Thomas Strakosha, 5-1.

Six minutes later it happened again. This time it was Wesley Hoedt who messed up a pass back to Strakosha and Rispoli took advantage to make it 5-2.

The beginning of an epic comeback? No, from then on Lazio controlled possession well and did not run any further risks.

Milinkovic-Savic forced Posavec into a dive to his left to keep a curling freekick out and Keita almost got his fourth but his low cross goal effort shaved the post.

Both sides made two substitutions; Lazio put on Luca Crecco for Milinkovic-Savic in the 70th minute and Cristiano Lombardi for Keita in the 83rd while the Rosanero visitors replaced Mato Jajalo with Ivaylo Chochev in the 66th and Simone Lo Faso with Aleksandar Trajkovski in the 74th.

The game seemed to be petering out without any further excitement until injury time when Crecco got his first Serie A goal. In the 91st minute the Roman midfielder scored with a tap-in after Posavec had parried a Senad Lulic header. Final score Lazio 6 Palermo 2.

Too easy for Lazio and who knows how many they could have scored if they had continued pushing. Palermo played like a team who had already accepted their fate and only scored courtesy of Lazio's lapse in concentration. This was perhaps understandable when you find yourself five nil up after 26 minutes in a Serie A game…

Lazio consolidated their 4th place. Milan had surprisingly been beaten 1-2 at home by Empoli and fell to -6 and Inter lost 4-5 in Florence and were at -8. Atalanta however resisted, beating Bologna 3-2 at home and were still at -1 in 5th place. Only three went in Champions League anyway so the race was for Europa League and Lazio were well positioned.

Palermo were not officially down but only a miracle of Santa Rosalia could save them now. The Palermitani were now 13 points from survival with 5 games remaining...

Who played for Lazio

Strakosha, Wallace, de Vrij, Hoedt, F. Anderson, Parolo (46' Lukaku), Biglia, Milinkovic-Savic (70' Crecco), Lulic, Immobile, Keita (83' Lombardi)

Substitutes: Vargic, Adamonis, Patric, Basta, Bastos, Cardoselli, Luís Alberto, Djordjevic, Javorcic

Manager: S. Inzaghi

Who played for Palermo

Posavec, Sunjic, Gonzalez, Goldaniga, Rispoli, Gazzi, Jajalo (66' Chochev), Morganella, Sallai (25' B.Henrique), Lo Faso (74' Trajkovski), Nestorovski

Substitutes: Fulignati, Marson, Andelkovic, Cionek, Balogh, Diamanti

Manager: Bortoluzzi

Referee: Fabbri

Goals: 8' Immobile, 10' Immobile, 21' Keita, 24' Keita (pen), 26' Keita, 46' Rispoli, 52' Rispoli, 90+1 Crecco

Sources

Lazio Wiki