October 21 2018: Parma-Lazio 0-2
Late but deserved
Immobile and Correa break Parma's resistance
The season so far
Lazio had finished 5th the previous season under Simone Inzaghi. The highlights were wins against Milan 4-1, Sampdoria 4-0, Sassuolo 6-1, Benevento 6-2 at home and Juventus 2-1, Benevento 5-1, SPAL 5-2 and Fiorentina 4-3 away. They fought for a Champions League slot until the last game but were ultimately beaten 2-3 and overtaken by Inter. A disappointing end. The top scorer was Ciro Immobile with 41 goals (29 in A).
Lazio had however won a trophy, defeating Juventus 3-2 to lift the Italian Supercoppa. A fantastic win with a 93rd minute winner, after Juventus had come back from 0-2 late on.
In the UEFA Cup they had reached the quarterfinals but lost to Salzburg 5-6 (with 3 goals in 4 minutes in the return leg). In Coppa Italia the Biancocelesti lost on penalties in the semifinal to Milan (after two 0-0 draws).
This season Inzaghi was still head coach. The main new signings were were: keeper Silvio Proto (Olympiakos), defenders Francesco Acerbi Sassuolo), Riza Durmisi (Betis Sevilla), midfielders Milan Badelj (Fiorentina), Valon Berisha (Salzburg), Danilo Cataldi (Benevento - back from loan) plus forward Joaquín Correa (Sevilla).
Leaving Rome were: keeper Federico Marchetti (Genoa), defender Stefan de Vrij (Inter), midfielder Davide Di Gennaro (Salernitana - on loan), Felipe Anderson (West-Ham) plus forwards Filip Djordjevic (Chievo) and Nani (Valencia - end of loan and then Sporting Lisbon).
In Serie A Lazio were currently joint 4th on 15 points with Milan. The Biancocelesti had 5 wins (including Fiorentina recently 1-0 at home) and 3 defeats (including first two and derby).
In the Europa League the Biancocelesti had won 1 (Apollon Limassol 2-1 at home) and lost 1 (Eintracht Frankfurt 1-4 away) and would play Olympique Marseille away on October 25.
Their Coppa Italia campaign would start in January against Novara at home.
Parma were newly promoted. The Gialloblu had finished 2nd in Serie B under Roberto D'Aversa. The top scorer was Emanuele Calaiò with 14 goals (13 in B).
This season D'Aversa was still the manager.
The main new signings were: goalkeeper Luigi Sepe (Napoli), defender Bruno Alves (Rangers), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter - on loan), Federico Dimarco (Inter - on loan) and Massimo Gobbi (Chievo), midfielders Alessandro Deiola (Cagliari - on loan but he would leave in January), Alberto Grassi (SPAL) and Luca Rigoni (Genoa), Leo Štulac (Venezia) plus forwards Jonathan Biabiany (Sparta Prague via Inter, for 3rd spell at Parma), Gervinho (Hebei FC-China), Roberto Inglese (Chievo) and Mattia Sprocati (Salernitana). In January they would add midfielder Juraj Kucka (Trabzonspor).
Leaving were: defender Alessandro Lucarelli (retiring, after 350 games) and Pasquale Mazzocchi (Perugia), midfielder Manuel Scavone (Lecce - on loan) plus forward Roberto Insigne (Benevento). In January forward Emanuele Calaiò would also leave (Salernitana).
In Serie A Parma had won 4 (including Inter 1-0 away), drawn 1 (Udinese 2-2 at home on debut) and lost 3 (including Juventus 1-2 at home). The Ducali came from two consecutive wins and were currently joint 8th, on 13 points with Fiorentina and Sassuolo.
In Coppa Italia however they were already out having surprisingly lost 0-1 at home to Pisa in August.
A game of medium difficulty for Lazio today. Both sides seemed to be able to win or lose but rarely draw. Anything could happen.
The match: Sunday, October 21, 2018, Stadio Ennio Tardini, Parma
A sunny but slightly hazy day and a classic 3 pm kick-off gathered just under 20,000 spectators (4,000 from Rome) at the Ennio Tardini (named after the former president who oversaw its construction). It is one of the oldest grounds still in use and was inaugurated in 1924.
Lazio had no real absences.
Parma were missing former Roma forward Gervinho.
Parma's speciality so far this season was a tight, organised defence with sudden and swift counter attacks.
They approached the game with the same plan. Lazio attacked and had the initiative but had problems creating a lot of opportunities.
They had four shots in the first half and only one on target with Patric.
Lazio played at a slow pace and Luis Alberto was not in great physical condition and was unable to put any of his trademark passes through to the forwards.
On the positive side Lazio were in control (68% possession) and only conceded one counterattack to Parma but Roberto Inglese scuffed his shot wide. Half time 0-0. A dull game so far.
The second half continued in the same way. Parma played with a 4-5-1 with Luca Siligardi and Antonio Di Gaudio playing low on the flanks.
Ciro Immobile wasted a chance from close range after a mishit shot by Sergej Milinlovic-Savic became an inviting assist.
Lazio kept control of the game but increased their rhythm which was even more noticeable after the first substitutions.
In the 57th minute Inzaghi pulled off Lucas Leiva after an error strewn performance and an underpar Luis Alberto while he introduced Valon Berisha and Joaquín Correa. The Kosovar allowed Milinkovic-Savic to play further forward and Correa added vivacity to the attack.
Parma responded two minutes later by replacing Roberto Inglese with Fabio Ceravolo.
Lazio were now more lively and Parma were increasingly in difficulty. They made two more changes, Jonathan Biabiany for Di Gaudio in the 67th minute and Amato Ciciretti for Siligardi in the 79th.
Lazio's pressure paid off in the 81st minute when Correa beat Ciciretti on the left and flicked the ball into the centre where the defence cleared badly on Patric and in came Berisha who was tripped up. A clumsy but clear foul. Immobile blasted the spotkick into the top left-hand corner giving Luigi Sepe no chance, 0-1.
Parma had to change their game plan and were unable to put any sustained pressure on the Lazio goal.
In the first minute out of the four of added time Adam Marusic came on for Patric.
In the fourth and last minute Lazio definitely put Parma out of their misery. Milinkovic showed his skills in midfield and passed forward to Immobile on the left, the Neapolitan cleverly waited for Correa to make his run and then slid him the ball behind Bruno Alves in front of goal on the left and "El Tucu" hit it low with his left foot onto the opposite post and in, 0-2.
A deserved win for Lazio. They had controlled the game from start to finish albeit initially with not enough pace. Once they upped the tempo and Inzaghi got the substitutions right they got their reward.
Parma had been too passive and did not have a single shot on target, unable to unleash their usual threats on the break.
Lazio now had 18 points and were solitary 4th.
Parma still had 13 points and were 10th with Torino and Genoa.
Who played for Parma
Sepe, Iacoponi, Bruno Alves, Gagliolo, Gobbi, Rigoni, Stulac, Barillà, Siligardi (79' Ciciretti), Inglese (59' Ceravolo), Di Gaudio (67' Biabiany)
Substitutes: Bagheria, Frattali, Bastoni, Gazzola, Deiola, Scozzarella, Sprocati
Manager: D'Aversa
Who played for Lazio
Strakosha, Luiz Felipe, Acerbi, Radu, Patric (91' Marusic), Parolo, Leiva (57' Berisha), Milinkovic-Savic, Lulic, Luis Alberto (57' Correa), Immobile
Manager: S.Inzaghi
Referee: Fabbri
Goals: 81' Immobile (pen), 90+4 Correa
What happened next
In Serie A Lazio finished 8th. In the remaining games the Biancocelesti won 11, drew 8 and lost 10 (including next game 0-3 to Inter). The highlight was crushing Roma 3-0 but it was a mediocre league campaign. The top scorer was Ciro Immobile with 19 goals (15 in A).
In the Europa League they then defeated Marseille 3-1 away and 2-1 at home but then lost the next two (Apollon Limassol 0-2 away and Eintracht Frankfurt 1-2 at home) and finished 2nd in the group. This meant a tough round of 32 tie against serial winners Sevilla which they lost 0-3 on aggregate.
Things went better in the Coppa Italia. Lazio defeated Novara 4-1 at home, Inter away on penalties and Milan 1-0 on aggregate to reach the final.
On May 15 on an uncharacteristically cold and wet Roman evening the Biancocelesti beat Atalanta 2-0 with two late goals, by Milinkovic-Savic and Correa. The season ended triumphantly with Lazio's 7th domestic cup.
Parma finished 14th. The Ducali then won 6, drew 10 (including Juventus 3-3 away) and lost 13 (including Lazio 1-4 away). The top scorer was Gervinho with 11 league goals.
Alessandro Bastoni and Federico Dimarco would go on to play and win league titles with Inter.
Serie A was won by Juventus for their 35th title while Empoli, Frosinone and Chievo were relegated. In the Europa League final Maurizio Sarri's Chelsea beat Arsenal 4-1.
Let's talk about: Luigi Sepe
Luigi Sepe was born in Torre del Greco (Naples), on May 8, 1991.
He was formed in the Napoli youth sector. In 2009, while still playing for the U19s, he made his first team debut coming on in the 32nd minute in an away game against Fiorentina. This would remain his only game.
In 2011 he was loaned to Pisa in Lega Pro 1 (3rd tier). He stayed two seasons, playing 12 games in the first and 35 in the second. The Nerazzurri finished 7th and 5th (losing in playoffs). His managers were: Dino Pagliari and Alessandro Pane with two spells each over both seasons.
In 2013-14 Sepe spent a season on loan at Virtus Lanciano in Serie B. He played 40 games under Marco Baroni and the Rossoneri finished 10th.
In 2014-15 he was with Empoli on loan in Serie A. He played 32 games under Maurizio Sarri and the Azzurri finished 15th. He played alongside Lazio connections Elseid Hysaj (2021-26) and Matías Vecino (2022-26).
In 2015-16 he was loaned to Fiorentina in A but only played in the cups, 6 in the Europa League and 1 in Coppa Italia. The main keeper was Ciprian Tătăruşanu. Fiorentina finished 5th under Paulo Sousa. His teammates included Lazio connections: Mauro Zarate (2008-11, 2012-13), Milan Badelj (2018-19) and Vecino again.
In 2016 he finally went back to Napoli and stayed two seasons. He only played 1 league game and 2 in Coppa Italia as the regular goalkeeper was Pepe Reina. The Partenopei finished 3rd and 2nd under Maurizio Sarri. One of his teammates was Hysaj again.
In 2018 he was sold to Parma. He stayed three and a half seasons, playing 110 games (107 in A). The Gialloblu finished 14th, 11th and 20th (relegated). His managers were Roberto D'Aversa for two seasons, Fabio Liverani at the beginning of the third and then D'Aversa again. Halfway through his 4th season after no games, first under Enzo Marseca and then Giuseppe Iachini, Sepe left. For the record Parma ended up 12th in Serie B.
In January 2022 he signed for Salernitana in Serie A. He played 16 games in his first half season and 18 in the following full one. The Granata finished 17th and 15th. He had several managers: Fabrizio Castori, Stefano Colantuono, Davide Nicola and Paulo Sousa. The squads included Lazio connections Antonio Candreva (2012-16) and Boulaye Dia (2024-26). It also surprisingly included Franck Ribéry (former Bayern star).
In 2023 Sepe joined Lazio on loan where he was reunited with manager Maurizio Sarri. Sepe however was 3rd keeper behind Ivan Provedel and Christos Mandas and never made his debut. Sarri resigned after 28 games and from the 30th Igor Tudor took over (Sarri's assistant Giovanni Martusciello was in charge for one game) and Lazio finished 7th (Europa League).
With Sarri gone and no appearances Sepe left too.
In 2024-25 he returned to Salernitana, now in B, and played one last season as captain. He played 19 games under four different managers: Martusciello again (1-13), Colantuono again (14-20), Roberto Breda (21-32) and Pasquale Marino (33-38 + playouts). The Granata finished 16th but lost to Sampdoria in the playouts and were relegated.
At 34 Sepe retired.
In his youth he played 4 games for Italy U18s and 4 games for the U19s, all in 2009.
He is currently assistant manager for the Savoia U16s. Savoia is a club from Torre Annunziata in the Naples area (11 km from his birth place). The first team is in Serie C.
Sepe was a goalkeeper. He was not a giant at 1.85 but possessed explosive strength which gave him dynamism and reactivity. He was also good with his feet and on high balls.
He did not have much luck with Napoli, Fiorentina or Lazio but he played 173 games in Serie A and had some good years at Empoli and Parma.
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