Against all odds

Simon Basten

Mar 3, 2023

3 min read

2022-23 Season

Game 25, Serie A

Friday, March 3, 2023

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Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Naples

Napoli Lazio 0-1

Lazio rise to the occasion in Naples and thanks to a spectacular goal from Vecino win where nobody else has won before

The team

Maurizio Sarri decided to put Matias Vecino in the centre of midfield in order to have a better balance against the almighty Napoli. In defence Nicolò Casale was suspended so there was space for Patric despite him still having a slight fever before the game and Alessio Romagnoli who had returned from injury but was still not 100%. Napoli had only lost one game so far in the Serie A, had won every single game at home except one and had an 18 point advantage over second place. Lazio looked as if they were lambs ready to be slaughtered.

The match

Lazio started very well. They took control of the game and Napoli were a little taken back. In the 5th minute Lazio had a great chance to go ahead. Free kick from the left, Luis Alberto crossed in, Vecino back headed the ball which went over Alex Meret and towards the goal. Giovanni Di Lorenzo cleared on the line.

Napoli took a while to get organised and once they did, they had enormous difficulty in developing their usual game plan. Lazio were very compact defensively, there were very limited gaps between the players and all that the Neapolitans were able to do were shots from outside the box. This was what happened in the 17th minute with Piotr Zielinski but Ivan Provedel comfortably saved and again in the 25th when an André Anguissa shot was deflected by Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and went over the crossbar. In the 30th minute Hirving Lozano crossed from the right and the Lazio goalkeeper managed to deflect the ball just that little so as to not allow Victor Osimhen to make contact.

The first half finished goalless, Napoli were in control but could not find a way to knock down Lazio's defensive wall. The Biancocelesti were defensively flawless.

Take a look at me now

In the second half Napoli increased the pressure and moved the ball around much faster than in the first 45 minutes. In the 58th minute Di Lorenzo on the right, ball to Oshimen in the centre who back-heeled for the upcoming Zielinski. His shot was wide. At that point Sarri takes off Felipe Anderson and thew in Pedro.

Lazio scored in the 67th minute and what a goal it was. After prolonged possession (1.27), Luis Alberto, outside the box on the centre left, passed the ball to Elseid Hysaj, cross in the middle to nobody, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia tried to clear but it was a perfect set up for Vecino who thundered in and half volleyed a powerful shot (116km/h) that stayed low and beat Meret. A wonderful goal. After missing so many chances he finally got a goal (“I’ve missed 15 chances at least I get to score one”, he said after the match).

In the 71st minute manager Luciano Spalletti substituted Anguissa and Lozano with Eljif Elmas and Matteo Politano and it was the former who had a chance in the 76th minute when a coast to coast took him to the limit of the Lazio penalty box but his shot was deflected into corner.

What followed are a number of corner kicks for Napoli and from one of those in the 79th minute came the biggest chance for the Azzurri. A quick corner allowed Kvaratskhelia to cross undisturbed from the left, Osimhen was in a perfect position to score but his header hit the crossbar. The ball fell to Kim Min-jae who headed the rebound but Provedel was miraculous.

Three more substitutions in the 81st minute. Matteo Cancellieri came in for Mattia Zaccagni, Tanguy Ndombelé for Stanislav Lobotka and Giovanni Simeone for Zielinski for Napoli. In the 88th Danilo Cataldi replaced Luis Alberto.

The last chance of the match was Lazio’s. In the 90th minute a Milinkovic-Savic free kick hit the woodwork.

Great match, particularly from a defensive point of view, and great win. Lazio were now second, at least for a few hours.

Who played for Napoli

Meret, Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Kim, Olivera (90'+3' Zedadka), Anguissa (71' Elmas), Lobotka (84' Ndombelè), Zielinski (84' Simeone), Lozano (71' Politano), Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia

Substitutes: Marfella, Gollini, Juan Jesus, Bereszynski, Ostigard, Demme, Zerbin, Gaetano

Manager: Spalletti

Who played for Lazio

Provedel, Marusic, Patric, Romagnoli, Hysaj, Milinkovic-Savic, Vecino, Luis Alberto (88' Cataldi), Felipe Anderson (58' Pedro), Immobile, Zaccagni (84' Cancellieri)