October 27 2021: Lazio-Fiorentina 1-0
Pedrito strikes again
An early second half goal by the veteran Canary Islander sees off Fiorentina
The season so far
Lazio had finished 6th (Europa League) the previous season, in what would be Simone Inzaghi's last year as manager. Top scorer as usual was Ciro Immobile with 25 (20 in A). Lazio had also reached the last 16 of the Champions League but lost 2-6 on aggregate to Bayern Munich.
Initially it seemed Inzaghi would stay on but in the meantime, unknown to Lazio, he made an agreement with Inter and left unexpectedly. Therefore this season Lazio had a new manager, Maurizio Sarri, with a new style of play.
The summer market had seen a few changes. Arriving were defender Elseid Hysaj (free agent), midfielders Toma Bašić (Bordeaux), Felipe Anderson (returning from West Ham), Luka Romero (Mallorca), Mattia Zaccagni (Verona) and forward Pedro (Roma…).
Leaving were defender Wesley Hoedt (Southampton - end of loan), Mohamed Fares (Genoa - on loan) midfielders Senad Lulic and Marco Parolo both retiring, Andreas Pereira (Manchester United - end of loan) plus forward Joaquín Correa (Inter).
So a welcome return, that of Felipetto Anderson but also some sad goodbyes, legendary Senad Lulic but also popular Marco Parolo.
Lazio were currently 8th, with 14 points. The Biancocelesti had started well with two wins but then been inconsistent. Some good wins (including the derby 3-2, Inter 3-1 and Spezia 6-1 at home) were balanced by bad defeats (including Bologna 0-3 and recently Verona 1-4 away). Lazio had won 4, drawn 2 and lost 3.
In Coppa Italia Lazio would play Udinese at home in January.
In the Europa League Lazio had played three games; 1 win (Lokomotiv Moscow 2-0 at home), 1 draw (Olympique Marseille 0-0 at home) and 1 defeat (Galatasaray 0-1 on debut away, courtesy of a huge Strakosha howler). They would now play the same opposition again in the last three group games, starting with OM away on November 4.
Fiorentina had finished 13th the previous season under two different managers; Giuseppe Iachini (1-7), Cesare Prandelli (8-28) and then Iachini again (29-38). The Viola had lost in Rome against Lazio but won 2-0 in Florence. Top scorer was Dušan Vlahovic with 21 league goals.
This season the manager was Vincenzo Italiano. The transfer market had brought; defenders Matija Nastasić (Schalke 04), Alvaro Odriozola (Real Madrid-on loan), midfielders Marco Benassi (Verona - back from loan), Alfred Duncan (Cagliari - back from loan), Yousef Maleh (Venezia - back from loan), Riccardo Saponara (Spezia - back from loan), Lucas Torreira (Arsenal - on loan) plus forwards Nicolás Gonzalez (Stuttgart) and Riccardo Sottil (Cagliari -back from loan). In the January session Fiorentina would add: midfielder Jonathan Ikoné (Lille) plus forwards Arthur Cabral (Basel) and Krzysztof Piątek (Hertha Berlin - on loan).
Leaving Florence were: keeper Alban Lafont (Nantes), defenders Martin Cáceres (end of contract), Federico Ceccherini (Verona), Germán Pezzella (Betis Sevilla), midfielders Valentin Eysseric (Kasimpaşa), Borja Valero (end of contract) plus forwards Christian Kouamé (Anderlecht - on loan) and Franck Ribéry (end of contract). In January midfielder Erick Pulgar (Galatasaray - on loan) and forward Dušan Vlahovic (Juventus) would also leave.
Fiorentina were currently joint 5th on 15 points (with Juventus and Atalanta). The Viola had won 5 and lost 4. All or nothing for Fiorentina so far with some good wins (Cagliari 3-0 at home, Atalanta 2-1 away) but also some unexpected defeats (Venezia 0-1 away).
In Coppa Italia the Viola had beaten Cosenza 4-0 at home in August. They would now play Benevento at home in December.
A difficult game to call today. Both teams were inconsistent and only separated by one point in the table. Lazio had been closed at their training headquarters at Formello since their recent heavy 1-4 defeat at Verona. It was to be seen if the reclusion had helped.
The match
A Wednesday evening game brought about 30,000 to the Olimpico. Today Maurizio Sarri was celebrating his 200th match in Serie A.
Lazio played in their classic light blue while Fiorentina today were in red.
Lazio had forward Mattia Zaccagni unavailable.
Fiorentina were without forwards Nicolás González who had Covid-19.
The first chance was for Lazio as after captain Cristiano Biraghi cleared badly, Felipe Anderson sent Manuel Lazzari careering down the right and he crossed but Ciro Immobile's header went high despite Pietro Terraciano mistimed jump.
It was then Lazzari again who burst forward from the midway line and went all the way to the edge of the area where he went for a left-footed curler but Terraciano parried behind for a corner.
Lazio had more initiative but goalscoring chances were few as the game reached the break goalless. Lazio 0 Fiorentina 0.
At the beginning of the second half Fiorentina showed their faces upfront. José Maria Callejón crossed high for Dusan Vlahović who headed down to Gaetano Castrovilli whose shot was walled by Francesco Acerbi, the ball then reached Lucas Torreira who fired over the bar from the area's limit.
In the 52nd minute Lazio scored with an excellent move. Goalkeeper Pepe Reina pumped the ball deep into the guests' half where Sergej Milinkovic-Savic brought it down beautifully, turned and, after a one-two with Immobile, teed up Pedro who burst into the area on the left and blasted a left-footed strike into the roof of the net, 1-0. A wonderful goal.
In the 57th minute Castrovilli was taken off and Jack Bonaventura came on.
Fiorentina threatened mainly on set pieces as when Nikola Milenkovic headed over from a Biraghi freekick. La Viola were slow and predictable and Vlahovic was too isolated up front.
In the last twenty minutes both sides made several substitutions, four each. The game however did not change. Fiorentina had periods of possession but then lost themselves in the last third.
Lazio defended well not conceding any openings to the Florentines and kept their first clean sheet of the season. Above all they clinched three important points against a potential rival for Europe and hoisted themselves slightly higher up in the table.
Lazio moved up to 6th on 17 points while Fiorentina dropped to 8th on 15 (with Juventus).
Who played for Lazio
Reina, Lazzari, Luiz Felipe (77' Patric), Acerbi, Marusic, Milinkovic-Savic (79' Basic), Cataldi (83' Leiva), Luis Alberto, Pedro (83' Moro), Immobile, Felipe Anderson
Manager: Sarri
Who played for Fiorentina
Terracciano, Venuti (71' Odriozola), Milenkovic, Quarta, Biraghi (83' Terzic), Duncan (83' Benassi), Torreira, Castrovilli (57' Bonaventura), Callejón (71' Saponara), Vlahovic, Sottil
Substitutes: Rosati, Nastasic, Igor, Maleh, Amrabat, Agostinelli, Toci
Manager: Italiano
Referee: Ayroldi
Goal: 52' Pedro
What happened next
Lazio finished 5th on 64 points and qualified for the Europa League. In the remaining games the Biancocelesti won 13 (including Fiorentina 3-0) , drew 8 (including Juventus 2-2 away) and lost 7 (including derby). The top scorer was Ciro Immobile with 32 goals (27 in A).
An up and down league campaign but that was predictable with Sarri's new style of play.
In Coppa Italia Lazio beat Udinese 1-0 (a.e.t) but then got thrashed 0-4 away by Milan in the quarterfinals.
In the Europa League they drew 2-2 in Marseille, won 3-0 in Moscow and drew 0-0 at home against Galatasaray. This meant they came 2nd and went to a playoff where they put up a good fight against Porto but lost 3-4 on aggregate.
Fiorentina finished 7th on 62 points and qualified for the Conference League. In the remaining fixtures the Viola won 14 (Milan 4-3, Genoa 6-0, Roma 2-0, Juventus 2-0 at home and Napoli 3-2 away), drew 5 (including Inter 1-1 away) and lost 9. The top scorer was Vlahovic with 20 goals (17 in A), despite leaving in January, and he was followed by Nico Gonzalez with 8 (7 in A).
In Coppa Italia Fiorentina beat Benevento 2-1, Napoli 5-2 away (a.e.t) and Atalanta 3-2 away but then lost in the semifinal 0-3 on aggregate to Juventus.
The Serie A champions were Milan for the 19th time. Serie B awaited Venezia, Genoa and Cagliari (they are all currently back in the top flight).
Let's talk about Gaetano Castrovilli
Gaetano Castrovilli was born in Canosa di Puglia, on February 17, 1997.
His first club as a kid was Minervino Murge before he moved to the Bari academy from 2008 to 2016.
He debuted young for Bari in the 2014-15 season. He played one game in Serie B, on May 22 against Spezia. The manager was Davide Nicola and the Galletti finished 10th. He stayed with Bari for two and a half seasons: 5th and 12th places. He played 12 games (11 in B). His other managers were Andrea Camplone, Roberto Stellone and Stefano Colantuono. He played alongside Lazio connection Joseph Minala (2013-14, 2016-Jan 17, 2018-Jan 19, 2019-Feb 20, Jan-Jun 21).
In February 2017 he joined Fiorentina in Serie A. He never made his debut under Paulo Sousa and the Florentines finished 8th. The squad included Lazio connections: Mauro Zárate (2008-11, 2012-13), Milan Badelj (2018-19) and Matías Vecino (2022-26).
In the summer of 2017 he was loaned to Cremonese in Serie B and stayed two seasons. He played regularly, making 55 appearances (52 in B) with 5 goals (all in B). The Grigiorossi finished 14th (under Attilio Tesser and then Andrea Mandorlini) and 9th (under Mandorlini and then Massimo Rastelli). In 2018-19 he was voted 2nd best Serie B young player (behind Sandro Tonali).
His good performances gained him a call back to Fiorentina and Serie A.
In his first season (under Vincenzo Montella and then Giuseppe Iachini) he played 35 games with 3 goals and La Viola finished 10th.
In his second season (under Iachini, Cesare Prandelli and Iachini again) he played 37 games with 5 goals and Fiorentina finished 13th.
In his third season (under Vincenzo Italiano) he started to have some injuries and played less, 27games with 1 goal, before a serious knee injury definitely ended his season in April (Fiorentina finished 7th).
Eight months later he made his comeback and played 26 games with 4 goals under Italiano and they finished 8th and lost two cup finals (Coppa Italia, Inter 1-2 and Conference League, West-Ham 1-2).
The 2023-24 season would be his fifth and last in Florence. He had an operation on his knee in the summer (after failing a medical with Bournemouth) and came back in March, playing 6 games with 1 goal under Italiano and finishing 8th and again losing the Conference League final (this time 0-1 against Olympiakos). His contract then expired and he left Fiorentina after 131 games and 14 goals (12 in A).
In Florence the squads included Lazio connections: Davide Faraoni (12 years in academy), Milan Badelj (2018-19) and (Martín Cáceres (2018-19)
In 2024 he signed for Lazio. It was a gamble for the Biancocelesti given Castrovilli's recent injuries but he was a free agent and there was the hope he could return to perform like in his first three Fiorentina years. He played a total of 10 games and rarely started under Marco Baroni so he left in January. Lazio eventually finished 7th and reached the Europa League quarterfinals (Bødo-Glimt on penalties).
In January 2025 he joined Monza on loan in Serie A. He was not a regular but played 12 league games, first under Salvatore Bocchetti and then Alessandro Nesta. The Brianzoli finished 20th and were relegated. His teammates included Lazio connections: Keita Baldé (2023-17), Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro (2020-22, 2024-25) and Daniel Maldini (Jan-Jun 2026).
In the summer of 2025 Castrovilli returned home to Apulia and Bari in Serie B. He stayed until February, playing 17 league games with 1 goal. The manager was first Fabio Caserta and then Vincenzo Viviani (and later Moreno Longo) and the Biancorossi were eventually relegated.
Meanwhile in February 2026 Castrovilli signed for Cesena in Serie B. He played 7 league games, first under Michele Mignani and then Ashley Cole and the Bianconeri finished 11th.
His contract was not renewed and he is now a free agent.
Castrovilli has 4 caps for Italy and was part of Italy's 2021 European Championship winning squad (Euro 2020). He also played 6 times for the U20s with 2 goals and 2 times for the U21s.
Castrovilli's career has a before and an after his serious knee injuries.
He was an attacking midfielder, skillful, fast and dynamic. He was versatile and could play in several roles. He was a complete player who could attack and provide assists but also defend. His agility and dribbling skills were said to have been helped by the fact that he did classical ballet as a young boy.
He was unlucky with injuries but became European Champion with Italy.
At only 29 his career can continue but the best is clearly behind him.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
2024-25 | 10 | 9 | 1 |
Sources
Comments