Well done ref!!!

Simon Basten

Apr 21, 2023

3 min read

2022-23 Season

Game 31, Serie A

Saturday, April 22, 2023

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Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Lazio Torino 0-1

On a day when Lazio do not play well, the referee makes sure Torino win

The team

Maurizio Sarri was forced not to play Ciro Immobile. King Ciro the previous weekend had been involved in a car crash with a tram and came out with a fractured rib and a problem with his arm. But Ciro was able to train decently in the last two days, so at least he was on the bench. Patric was preferred to Nicolò Casale who had had problems before the game against Spezia and Matias Vecino substituted Danilo Cataldi suspended.

A difficult match against Torino who were a good team and very well organised. Seeing the deep hatred between Presidents Urbano Cairo and Claudio Lotito, we could be sure that the Granata would not be as passive on the pitch as in the game against Roma.

The match

After just 30 seconds Pedro went off on the right and crossed into the box, Mattia Zaccagni managed to head the ball towards the goal, Vanja-Milinkovic Savic fumbled but he was able to catch it on the second attempt right on the goal line.

Despite the initial chance, one could immediately see however that Lazio were in difficulty. The Biancocelesti were not dangerous and the referee did not help. In the 13th minute Singo hugged Elseid Hysaj in the box but Ghersini said play on.

In the 20th minute on the counterattack Antonio Sanabria to Nemanja Radonijc, his shot was well saved by Ivan Provedel.

A number of Torino fouls were ignored by Ghersini and when he did blow his whistle he generally did not book. There should have been a yellow card, at least one, for Wilfried Singo and Koffi Djidji for fouls on Zaccagni.

In the 43rd minute Torino scored. Ivan Ilic received the ball thirty metres from goal but central, his shot bounced right in front of Provedel who was not able to control it and the ball went in. To note was that the throw in that started the play saw Ricardo Rodriguez have one foot on the pitch. It should have been disallowed by VAR but they missed it.

Second half

In the 54th minute in came Immobile and Marcos Antonio for Pedro and Vecino. A minute later Zaccagni’s shot went just out and in the 57th, former West Ham United player Nikola Vlasic put in a low cross from the right, Radonijc went for the kill but Provedel saved.

In the 63rd minute Singo was finally booked but not for a foul but for wasting time. Radonjic was replaced by Yann Karamoh in the 69th minute and shortly after in came Manuel Lazzari and Casale, out went Hysaj and Patric. Lazio made many mistakes but at least then they had a playmaker in Marcos Antonio and the ball travelled a lot faster. Maybe he should have been in from the start. Lazzari was dangerous on the right but his crosses were always cleared by the Torino defence.

The referee, in total confusion, continued to avoid booking Singo for the second time, so the Torino manager Ivan Juric took him off just in case. In came Andreaw Gravillon who immediately was shown a yellow card for elbowing Adam Marusic in the face.

Lazio did try to create opportunities but were not dangerous. Zaccagni had a couple of chances but was not as lethal as in previous games. Not a good match for Luis Alberto nor Felipe Anderson either. Ghersini avoided booking Gravillon a second time despite many bookable offences. The Biancocelesti got more and more nervous. Luca Pellegrini came in for Marusic with ten minutes to go. Lazio increased their crosses in the box but to no avail.

Torino win, perhaps deservedly, exploiting a bad day in the office for the Biancocelesti and an even worse one for the referee.

Who played for Lazio

Provedel, Marusic (81' Pellegrini), Patric (69' Casale), Romagnoli, Hysaj (69' Lazzari), S. Milinkovic-Savic, Vecino (54' Marcos Antonio), Luis Alberto, Pedro (54' Immobile), Felipe Anderson, Zaccagni