October 29, 2017: Benevento-Lazio 1-5
- Dag Jenkins
- 4 hours ago
- 11 min read
Lazio hit sorcerers with open hand
The Biancocelesti put five past hapless Stregoni
Also on this day:
The season so far
Lazio had finished 5th (EL) the previous season under Simone Inzaghi. The Biancocelesti had lost the first derby but triumphed 3-1 in the second. Other good results were Atalanta 4-3, Pescara 6-2 both away and Sampdoria 7-3 and Palermo 6-2, both at home. Lazio had also reached the Coppa Italia final beating Roma in the semi-final 4-3 on aggregate but then lost to Juventus 0-2. Top scorer was Ciro Immobile with 26 goals (23 in A).
This season Inzaghi was still manager but there had been quite a few changes to the squad. The main new arrivals were: defenders Luiz Felipe (Salernitana-end of loan), Adam Marušić (Oostende), midfielders Davide Di Gennaro (free agent), Lucas Leiva (Liverpool), Nani (Valencia-on loan with option to buy), forwards Felipe Caicedo (Espanyol) and Pedro Neto (Braga-two-year loan with obligation to buy).
Leaving amongst others were: defender Wesley Hoedt (Southampton), midfielders Lucas Biglia (Milan), Danilo Cataldi (Benevento -on loan) and forward Keita Baldé (Monaco).
The season had started in fantastic style. On August 13, Lazio had defeated Juventus 3-2 to win the Supercoppa Italiana. Lazio went 2-0 up with two Immobile goals but Paulo Dybala responded with a late brace of his own before Alessandro Murgia got Lazio’s winner in the 93rd minute. Lazio lifted their 4th Supercoppa.
In Serie A the Biancocelesti had played 8 games and won 6 (including Milan 4-1 and Sassuolo 6-1 both at home), drawn 1 (SPAL 0-0 at home on debut) and lost 1 (Napoli 1-4 at home). Lazio's most recent game had been an epic 2-1 away win at Juventus with Thomas Strakosha saving a Dybala 94th minute penalty. The Biancocelesti were currently joint 3rd on 25 points with Juventus. Napoli were top on 28 followed by Inter on 26.
In the Europa League the Biancocelesti were also doing well having won three games out of three (Vitesse 3-2 away, Zulte Waregem 2-0 at home and Nice 3-1 away).
Their Coppa Italia campaign would start on December 14 against Cittadella at home.
Benevento were newly promoted. The Giallorossi from Campania had finished 5th in Serie B under future Lazio manager Marco Baroni but then won the playoffs (Carpi 1-0). The top scorer was Fabio Ceravolo with 20 league goals.
This season Baroni had stayed on but was replaced after the 9th fixture (9 defeats...) by Roberto De Zerbi.
The "Stregoni" (Sorcerers) had 20 new players for the top flight. The main arrivals were: goalkeepers Vid Belec (Carpi) and Alberto Brignoli (Juventus via Perugia - on loan), defenders Luca Antei (Sassuolo - on loan), Andrea Costa (Empoli), Gianluca Di Chiara (Perugia), Berat Djimsiti (Atalanta via Avellino - on loan), Achraf Lazaar (Newcastle United - on loan), Gaetano Letizia (Carpi), midfielders Danilo Cataldi (Lazio - on loan), Marco D'Alessandro (Atalanta - on loan), Ledian Memushaj (Pescara) plus forwards Samuel Armenteros (Heracles Almelo - Holland), Massimo Coda (Salernitana), Pietro Iemmello (Sassuolo), Cristiano Lombardi (Lazio - on loan) and Vittorio Parigini (Torino).
Leaving Benevento were: goalkeeper Alessandro Cragno (Cagliari - end of loan), defender Michele Camporese (Foggia), Emanuele Padella (Ascoli), Walter López (Spezia), midfielders Daniele Buzzegoli (Ascoli), Mirko Pajač (Perugia via Cagliari - end of loan), Filippo Falco (Perugia via Bologna - end of loan) plus forwards Fabio Ceravolo (Parma) and Karamoko Cissé (Bari).
In the one game since De Zerbi's arrival the Sanniti had lost again, 1-2 away at Cagliari. Benevento obviously had zero points but were still only points six from safety (Crotone, Verona and Genoa on 6 points).
A seemingly easy match for Lazio today but the law of probabilities said that sooner or later the hosts had to get their first points... hopefully not against the Biancocelesti.
The match: Sunday, October 29, 2017, Stadio Ciro Vigorito, Benevento
A mild day with some sun welcomed Lazio to old Beneventum on the Appia Antica. The Vigorito was not full but there were just under 15,000 spectators present, 2,000 from Rome.
Benevento were without defender Andrea Costa and midfielder Marco D'Alessandro.
Lazio were missing defenders Wallace and Dušan Basta plus attacking midfielder Felipe Anderson.
The Biancocelesti almost immediately tried to make sure to avoid any nasty surprises and took the lead after four minutes. Ciro Immobile provided the assist with a header and Bastos only had to get a foot to it almost on the goal line, 0-1
Lazio insisted and in the 13th minute made it two. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic cleverly set up Immobile who clinically beat Alberto Brignoli, 0-2. This goal also meant Ciro was now leader in the Golden Boot table.
There was no contest at the moment as Milinkovic-Savic and Luis Alberto dominated the show. In the 24th minute the Biancocelesti scored again. Immobile was again the assist man as instead of shooting he teed up Adam Marusic and the Montenegrin had an easy task to score, 0-3.
Milinkovic then almost made it four after jiggling his way into the box and letting off a powerful left footed shot but Brignoli flew to his right and parried out for a corner.
Lazio were cruising and reached halftime with the game already practically won.
Practically because in the first part of the second half Lazio relaxed too much, the hosts attempted a comeback. During the break De Zerbi replaced Ledian Memushaj with Amato Ciciretti and the Giallorossi finally showed some fighting spirit. The former Lazio academy player (2001-04) had a dangerous left footed effort go just wide
In the 55th minute they pulled a goal back. It was Achraf Lazaar who revived the game and the crowd with a low right footed shot under Thomas Strakosha's legs after beating Marco Parolo, 1-3.
There followed a good twenty minutes in which the Sorcerers were on top. In the 58th minute Inzaghi tried to remedy by replacing Milinkovic-Savic with a more defensive Jordan Lukaku.
Soon after the goal Strakosha had to pull off a superb save on the lively Ciciretti and Pietro Iemmello had a header go just wide. The locals now believed and in the 69th minute tried changing forwards bringing on Massimo Coda for Iemmello.
A few minutes later Lazio responded by replacing Senad Lulic with Nani.
The Biancocelesti weathered the storm and in the 74th minute struck again. It was the former Manchester United player who provided the assist for Parolo who hit a crisp, low, right foot from just inside the box, 1-4.
Benevento's heads dropped and they now lacked the strength to react. They did however have a threatening curling freekick by Ciciretti whistle past Strakosha's right post.
Two last substitutions came, one each, in the 79th minute Gaetano Letizia for still Lazio owned Cristiano Lombardi and in the 81st, Felipe Caicedo for Lucas Leiva.
Nani then scored Lazio's fifth in the 86th minute. On an Immobile pass he skilfully dribbled past a defender and sent a low left foot into the back of the net, 1-5.
A convincing win by Lazio despite taking their foot off the accelerator at the beginning of the second 45 minutes. Their level however was clearly superior so when they decided to step up a gear again there was no contest.
Benevento had been too passive and were outclassed in the first half. In the second they showed some grit and passion causing Lazio a few headaches but ultimately lacked the quality to compete with the Roman visitors. Their wait for their first win (or even point) continued.
Lazio were still joint 3rd with Juventus on 28 points while Napoli had 31 and Inter 29. Benevento were obviously still rock bottom but now were 8 points from survival (Sassuolo on 8).
Who played for Benevento
Brignoli, Venuti, Antei, Di Chiara, Lombardi (79' Letizia), Chibsah, Viola, Lazaar, Cataldi, Memushaj (46' Ciciretti), Iemmello (68' Coda)
Substitutes: Belec, Gyamfi, Gravillon, Djimsiti, Del Pinto, Kanoute, Puscas, Parigini, Armenteros
Manager: De Zerbi
Who played for Lazio
Strakosha, Bastos, de Vrij, Radu, Marusic, Parolo, Leiva (81' Caicedo), Milinkovic-Savic (58' Lukaku), Lulic (71' Nani), Luis Alberto, Immobile
Manager: S.Inzaghi
Referee: Giacomelli
Goals: 4' Bastos, 13' Immobile, 24' Marusic, 55' Lazaar, 76' Parolo, 86' Nani
What happened next
In Serie A Lazio fought for the 4th place and last Champions League slot until the end. After today's game in the next ten they won 5, drew 3 and lost 2. They then went through a bad patch in late January-early February losing three in a row but then picked up and won 7 out of the next 12 while the derby ended 0-0. They went into the penultimate game away at Crotone in 4th place knowing a win would clinch Champions League but they only drew 2-2. The last match was against Inter at home and Lazio needed a draw to clinch the Champions League but they lost 2-3 in the dying minutes after leading 2-1. A lost opportunity and bitterly disappointing.
There was also a lot of controversy in this last match as Lazio defender de Vrij had already announced he would be playing for Inter the following season and it was he who gave away the penalty which let Inter back into the game. He would play in the Champions League while Lazio would play in the Europa League again…
In the Europa League, Lazio reached the quarterfinals. In the remainder of the first group stage they won 1 (Nice 1-0 at home), drew 1 (Vitesse 1-1 at home) and lost 1 (Zulte Waregem 2-3 away in the last game). The Biancocelesti then knocked out FSCB (Steaua Bucharest) 5-2 and Dynamo Kyiv 4-2 on aggregate. In the quarter finals they played Red Bull Salzburg, won the first home leg 4-2 but then collapsed in Austria losing 1-4 and conceding three goals in four minutes (72', 74' and 76') after leading through an Immobile goal. Another huge disappointment.
In Coppa Italia, Lazio knocked out Cittadella 4-1 and Fiorentina 1-0 but then went out against Milan in the semi-final on penalties after two nil-nil draws.
So, all in all a disappointing season for Lazio but with the satisfaction of lifting another trophy (Supercoppa 2017).
Benevento finally got their first point in the 15th fixture. They drew 2-2 at home against Milan, equalising in the 95th minute with a header by the goalkeeper… The Giallorossi then won 6 (including Milan 1-0 away), drew 2 and lost 15 (including Lazio 2-6). They finished 20th and bottom on 21 points (17 from survival). The top scorer was Cheick Diabaté with 8 league goals (he had arrived in January from Osmanlispor-Turkey). The head coach De Zerbi is now considered a top manager after his experiences at Sassuolo, Shakhtar Donetsk, Brighton and now Olympique Marseille.
The Scudetto was won by Juventus for the 34th time. Benevento went down with Crotone and Verona. Benevento are now in Serie C.
Let's talk about Nani
Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha, known as Nani, was born in Praia, Cape Verde Islands, on November 17, 1986. He is of Portuguese nationality.
He first started playing football with Real Sport Clube, from Queluz near Lisbon, in 2000.
In 2003 he joined Sporting Lisbon youth set up. In the 2004-05 season he joined the first team and in 2005-06 made his debut. He played 29 league games with 4 goals, 5 games in the domestic cup with 1 goal and 2 games in Europe (1CL +1 EL). The manager was Paulo Bento and the "Leões" finished 2nd and won the Taça de Portugal (the domestic cup).
In 2006-07 he played 29 games and scored 5 goals, 5 games in the domestic cup and 6 in the Champions League with 1 goal (Spartak Moscow). The Verde e Brancos (Green and Whites) again finished 2nd and won the Taça de Portugal.
In the summer of 2007 Nani made the big move to Manchester United in the Premier League. The manager was Alex Ferguson and the Red Devils won the league. Nani played 26 league games with 3 goals, 5 games in the domestic cups, 11 games in the Champions League plus the Community Shield (won vs Chelsea on pens). Manchester United won the Champions League beating Chelsea 6-5 on penalties (Nani scored his, the one just before John Terry's famous slip).
Nani stayed another six seasons with United, five under Sir Alex Ferguson. Manchester United and Nani won another 3 league titles, 2 League Cups and 1 World Cup for Clubs. In this time, they also won another 4 Community Shields and lost another 2 Champions League finals. Nani played a total of 230 games for United and scored 40 goals. His teammates included Rio Ferdinand, Patric Evra, Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes, Carlos Tevez, Cristiano Ronaldo, Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen and Robin Van Persie just to name a few.
In August 2014 Nani returned to Sporting Lisbon on loan for a season. The manager was Marco Silva (future Everton and Fulham) and the Sportinguisti finished 3rd but again won the cup. Nani played 27 league games with 7 goals, 3 games in the domestic cup with 1 goal and 7 games in Europe (5 in CL and 2 in EL) with 4 goals in CL.
In 2015-16 Nani played in Turkey for Fenerbahçe. The manager was fellow Portuguese Vítor Perira and the "Sari Kanaryalar" (Yellow Canaries) were runners up both in the league (Beşiktaş) and in the cup (Galatasaray). Nani played 28 league games with 8 goals, 6 games in the Turkish Cup and 13 in Europe (2 in CL +11 in EL) with 1 goal.
In 2016-17 he played in Spain for Valencia. The Blanquinegres had three managers; Pako Ayestaran, Voro, Italian Cesare Prandelli and then Voro again and finished 12th. Nani played 25 league games with 5 goals and 1 game in the Copa del Rey.
In 2017-18 he played with Lazio on loan. The manager was Simone Inzaghi and it was an unlucky season, apart from winning the Italian Supercoppa beating Juventus 3-2. Lazio finished 5th narrowly missing out on Champions, lost in the semi-final of Coppa Italia and in the quarter finals of the Europa League. Nani played 18 league games with 3 goals (Udinese, Benevento, Chievo), 1 game in Coppa Italia and 5 games in the Europa League.
In the summer of 2018 he returned to Sporting Lisbon again but only until February. There were three managers: José Peseiro, Tiago Fenandes and Marcel Keizer. Nani played 18 league games with 7 goals, 5 in the domestic cups and 5 in the Europa League with 1 goal.
The "Leões" came 3rd and won both domestic cups but Nani had already left.
In 2019 he went for the MLS experience in the States and joined Orlando City in Florida. In three seasons he played a total of 88 games and scored 31 goals.
In January 2022 he came back to Italy and joined Venezia in Serie A. The manager was first Paolo Zanetti and then Andrea Soncin for the last four matches. The "Leoni Alati" (The Winged Lions) were relegated and Nani played 10 league games.
In 2022-23 Nani went down under to Australia and played for Melbourne Victory. He played 10 league games for the Blues and 1 in the Australian Cup.
Nani then returned to Turkey again, this time to Adana Demirspor. The Mavi Şimşekler (Blue Lightnings) had a decent season and finished 12th. The manager was initially Patrick Kluivert but he was then replaced, in December, by Hikmet Karaman. Nani played 34 games with 4 goals.
His last club was back in Portugal, Estrela Amadora in the top flight. He played 10 games with 1 goal but then retired in December at 38.
Nani had an excellent international career. He won 112 caps for Portugal and scored 24 goals. He won a bronze at the European Championship in Poland-Ukraine in 2017 and gold at the European Championship in France in 2016. He also played 11 games for the U21s with 1 goal.
Nani was an attacking midfielder. He often played on the wing, right or left. He was skilful, strong and quick with exceptional dribbling abilities. He was more of an assist man than a goal scorer but still got his fair share of goals in his career. He is considered one of Portuguese greatest players behind the untouchables, CR7 and Eusebio.
At Lazio he was a mixed success. He was on loan and not a regular player. He played a total of 25 games with 3 goals. His time in Rome was enough however for the Laziali to see glimpses of his immense talent.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League |
2017-18 | 25 (3) | 18 (3) | 1 | 6 |
Source
Comments