Thank you, Pedro
- Simon Basten
- May 23
- 3 min read
Game 38, Serie A
Saturday, May 23, 2026
Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Lazio Pisa 2-1
Pedro gives Lazio a win in his final match
The team
For Pedro's final game as a professional footballer, Maurizio Sarri fielded the best possible starting XI available to him. With numerous players injured, he did not have much to choose from, so Luca Pellegrini and Reda Belahyane came into the team, while Alessio Furlanetto was confirmed in goal. Mario Gila also started in defence, possibly for the final time in a Lazio shirt.
Along with Pedro and Gila, this was also set to be the final game for Toma Bašić and Elseid Hysaj, who, willingly or unwillingly, were not going to renew their contracts, as well as Alessio Romagnoli, who will move to Qatar. It is also unlikely Daniel Maldini will stay.
It may also have been Sarri's last match on the Lazio bench. It does not look as though he will be staying.
The match
Lazio did not start too badly and, in the fourth minute, Belahyane tried a shot from just inside the box which went over the bar. Two minutes later, Rozen Bozinov tripped over the ball on the right. Matteo Cancellieri took advantage and raced towards the penalty area, only to attempt a difficult shot which once again went too high. In the eighth minute, Adam Marušić hit the side of the post from an impossible angle. Three minutes later, Pedro tried a shot from the left which went just wide.
The Biancocelesti were playing well, but Pisa took the lead. In the 23rd minute, Michel Aebischer crossed from the right and Stefano Moreo, positioned between Gila and Marušić, headed the ball into the net. It could have been 2–0 three minutes later when, on the counter-attack, Filip Stojilkovic found Samuele Angori completely unmarked in the centre of the box. His volley was miraculously parried for a corner by Furlanetto. A great save.
As the (few) spectators began to show their impatience, Lazio equalised. In the 33rd minute, Belahyane, on the right, passed to Fisayo Dele-Bashiru just outside the box with his back to goal. He turned and produced a clinical finish to make it 1–1.
Time for the Pedro show. In the 35th minute, the Spaniard played a one-two with Tijjani Noslin just outside the box before curling a low left-footed shot into the net to make it 2–1 to Lazio.
There was still an hour to play, but the game was virtually over. Noslin, alone in front of the goalkeeper in the 50th minute, saw his weak effort saved, while Maldini had a chance in the 90th minute but was denied by Adrian Šemper.
Pedro received a standing ovation when he left the pitch after an hour, replaced by Boulaye Dia. A great champion who will be missed.
One final note: young Polish prospect Adrian Przyborek was finally allowed to make his Serie A debut, coming on for Dele-Bashiru in the 82nd minute.
Final considerations on the season
Lazio's best performance came away to Genoa, when they were forced to play in a sort of 4-4-2. This should have been a sign for Sarri, but he ignored it. The Biancocelesti were boring, had terrible problems creating scoring opportunities, and the pattern was very similar to Sarri's third season.
The match which best exposed all his limitations as a manager was the home game against Como, when the Biancocelesti were incapable of taking the ball away from the Lombards and Sarri was incapable of making the necessary change or taking a risk to break Como's dominance of possession. Moreover, in the crucial matches of the season, the team faded away.
In Serie A, Lazio were never in a position to fight for a decent finish. They were better in the Coppa Italia, but their attitude in the final was disappointing, with the team failing to put up much of a fight.
The fans' protest, legitimate by all means, did not help.
A lot of changes will be needed this summer if Lazio are ever going to be competitive again.
Who played for Lazio
Furlanetto, Marusic, Gila (46' Provstgaard), Romagnoli, Pellegrini (82' Lazzari), Basic, Belahyane, Dele-Bashiru (82' Przyborek), Cancellieri (71' Maldini), Noslin, Pedro (60' Dia)
Substitutes: Pannozzo, Giacomone, Gigot, Patric, Isaksen, Ratkov, Hysaj, Farcomeni
Manager: Sarri
Who played for Pisa
Semper, Calabaresi (77' Bettazzi), Canestrelli, Bozhinov, Leris (71' Cuadrado), Akinsamiro (46' Hojholt), Aebischer (61' Loyola), Vural, Angori, Moreo, Stojilkovic (61' Piccinini)
Substitutes: Nicolas, Scuffetta, Meister, Tourè, Durosinmi, Iling-Junior, Stengs, Albiol
Manager: Hiljemark
Referee: Ferrieri Caputi
Goals: 23’ Moreo, 33’ Dele-Bashiru, 35’ Pedro
Booked: Gila (L), Noslin (L), Piccinini (P)
Comments