September 1, 2019: Lazio Roma 1-1
- Lazio Stories
- Sep 1
- 11 min read
Spectacular draw
An exciting derby ends with a point apiece but Lazio would have won on posts (4-2)
Also on this day:
The season so far
Lazio started the season trying to improve on the disappointing 8th place of the previous year. A year which had however ended on a triumphal note with the victory in the Coppa Italia final against Atalanta in May (2-0).
This season in had come Slovak defender Denis Vavro (F.C Copenhagen), Spanish winger Jony (Malaga), midfielder Manuel Lazzari (SPAL) plus young Dutch forward Bobby Adekanye (former Liverpool).
Lazio had bid farewell to well-serving Dušan Basta (retiring) and also to defenders Wallace (Braga) and Romulo (Genoa-end of loan) plus midfielder Milan Badelj (Fiorentina). In hindsight they had also made the mistake of letting promising young Portuguese Pedro Neto slip through their fingers, selling him to Wolves.
Lazio had so far only played one league game and it had been an excellent 3-0 away win at Sampdoria with a Ciro Immobile brace and a goal by Joaquin Correa.
The derby came early this year.
Roma had finished 6th the previous season, first under Eusebio Di Francesco and then, from the 27th fixture, Claudio Ranieri. Roma had won one derby 3-1 but lost the other 0-3. Top scorer was Edin Džeko with 15 while only in Serie A it was Stephan El Shaarawy with 11.
This Giallorossi had reached the last 16 of the Champions League (Porto 3-4 a.e.t) and the quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia (Fiorentina 1-7!!).
This season the manager was Paulo Fonseca. The main new signings were: goalkeeper Pau López (Real Betis Sevilla), defenders Leonardo Spinazzola (Juventus), Gianluca Mancini (Atalanta - on loan with obligation to buy), Mert Çetin (Gençlerbirliği), Davide Zappacosta (Chelsea - on loan), Chris Smalling (Manchester United - on loan), midfielders Amadou Diawara (Napoli), Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Arsenal - on loan), Jordan Veretout (Fiorentina - on loan with obligation to buy), forwards Nikola Kalinić (Atlético Madrid - on loan with option to buy). Roma had spent 109 million Euros.
Leaving were: goalkeeper Robin Olsen (Cagliari - on loan), defenders Kostas Manolas (Napoli), Rick Karsdorp (Feyenoord - on loan), Iván Marcano (Porto), midfielders Daniele De Rossi (Boca Juniors after 616 games for Roma), Ante Ćorić (Almeria - on loan with option to buy), Steven Nzonzi (Galatasaray - on loan with option to buy) plus forwards Stephan El Shaarawy (Shanghai Shenhua) and Patrik Schick (RB Leipzig - on loan with option to buy).
On their debut the Giallorossi had drawn 3-3 at home to Genoa after going ahead three times.
No real favourites today and even if there were it never counts much in derbies anyway.
The match: Sunday, September 1 2019, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A Sunday 6.p.m kick-off brought about 55,000 fans to the "Stracittadina". The pitch was still slightly wet from the afternoon rain.
Lazio had no real absences while Roma were forced to play Justin Kluivert rather than Davide Zappacosta as the Italian strained his calf in the warm-up.
The first huge chance was for the Biancocelesti. After three minutes Luís Alberto swung in a corner from the left, the Roma keeper punched it clear, it reached Lucas Leiva outside the box and the Brazilian hit it first time on the volley but it came back off the left post. On the rebound Ciro Immobile shot but a defender walled it out for a corner.
Roma responded with a post of their own in the 5th minute. Nicolò Zaniolo hit a low left footer from the edge of the area but it hit the right post and came back into play on the left.
In the 17th minute Roma were awarded a penalty. Edin Dzeko tried to scoop a ball into the area but it hit Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's arm. The Serb was only standing about a metre from the Bosnian and couldn't do much about it but in modern football unfortunately they give these penalties. Aleksandar Kolarov put a medium height shot to Thomas Strakosha's right and Roma were ahead, 0-1. It was his third goal in a derby (second for Roma).
Lazio were then unlucky in the 24th minute as they hit the woodwork again. Milinkovic-Savic headed onto Immobile who charged into the box and let loose a thundering shot which came straight back off the crossbar.
Only a minute later Lazio could not believe it as they hit another post. This time it was Joaquin Correa who weaved his way into the box on the left and his right foot sent a brilliant, low, curling shot onto the far post.
In the 27th minute Zaniolo then hit another post with a powerful strike from outside the area. The fifth woodwork of the match! It was all happening.
The next chance too was for the Giallorossi. Following a corner Bryan Cristante headed a Strakosha short punched clearance over the keeper but Milinkovic-Savic headed it away near the goal line.
In the 40th minute Lazio had to make a substitution as Luiz Felipe went off injured and on came Bastos.
Halftime score Lazio 0 Roma 1. An exciting derby so far which could have been 3-3 already.
Strangely not a lot happened early on after the break until the 58th minute when latching on to a Stefan Radu cross from the left Manuel Lazzari headed just wide.
In the 59th minute Lazio equalised. Immobile ran into the area on the right but could not shoot as he had too many defenders on him, instead he intelligently laid the ball back to the oncoming Luís Alberto who smashed the ball into the back of the net despite having five Romanisti between him and the goal, 1-1.
Lazio almost doubled their lead immediately. In the 65th minute Immobile set up Correa who went past a defender and in front of Pau Lopez shot but the Spanish keeper pulled off a great save.
In the 67th minute Pastore came on for Cengiz Under while in the 71st Marco Parolo replaced Milinkovic-Savic for Lazio.
More substitutions followed for both sides but there was still time for one more woodwork. In the 86th minute Correa ran at the defence om the left and squared the ball across to Parolo who hit a first time left footer but it hit the bar and went over. Lazio's fourth woodwork of the evening, surely a record in a derby.
Lazio then had a Lazzari goal disallowed in injury time for a Jony offside position. The game ended in a draw. Full time Lazio-Roma 1-1.
An entertaining game which Lazio would have deserved to win (23 shots to 7). Lazio were pleased to have come back from being behind at halftime and had shown to be superior to their rivals but frustrated at being denied the victory by the woodwork.
Derbies have often ended up 1-1 but rarely have they been as action packed as this one.
Who played for Lazio
Strakosha, Luiz Felipe (40' Bastos), Acerbi, Radu, Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic (71' Parolo), Leiva, Luis Alberto, Lulic (78' Jony), Correa, Immobile
Substitutes: Guerrieri, Proto, Vavro, Patric, Berisha, Marusic, Cataldi, A. Anderson, Adekanye, Caicedo
Manager: S. Inzaghi
Who played for Roma
Pau Lopez, Florenzi (88' Diawara), Mancini, Fazio, Kolarov, Cristante, Pellegrini, Under (67' Pastore), Zaniolo (79' Santon), Kluivert, Dzeko
Substitutes: Fuzato, Mirante, Zappacosta, Juan Jesus, Smalling, Cetin, Veretout, Schick, Antonucci
Manager: Fonseca
Referee: Guida
Goals: 17' Kolarov (pen), 59' Luis Alberto
What happened next
In the next game Lazio slumped to a 1-2 away defeat to SPAL. There followed two wins, a draw and a defeat. A mixed start.
Then came the home game against Atalanta with the Biancocelesti 0-3 down at halftime but Lazio stirred and three goals in the last twenty minutes earned them a draw. It was the turning point of the season.
Lazio then won 13 out of the next 15 games, the other 2 were draws (including derby 1-1 again). On December 7 the Biancocelesti also defeated league leaders Juventus 3-1 at home and officially joined the title race.
On December 22 Lazio again defeated Juventus 3-1 in Riyadh to lift the Italian Supercoppa.
In early March the Biancocelesti were still pushing Juventus for top spot in the league, only one point behind the leaders, when disaster struck, not only for Lazio but for the entire world. The outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic interrupted the league for 4 months. On Saturday February 29, 2020, Lazio beat Bologna 2-0 at the Olimpico and then didn't play again until 24 June.
The season restarted in empty stadiums but Lazio's magic had gone. The fact of having to play three matches a week was never going to work for Lazio's limited numbered squad. They had an almost perfectly oiled machine but only in 12-13 players, without strength in depth compared to rivals Juventus, Inter or even Atalanta. The fast and furious oncoming of games soon took its toll and Lazio faded and tired, ending up 4th. The top scorer was Ciro Immobile with 39 goals (36 in A).
This still meant a Champions League qualification after 13 years but Lazio will forever be left thinking about what could have been. Up until March Lazio had seemed unstoppable and gone from strength to strength while Juventus were winning games but not playing great football and often struggled. The general consensus was that Lazio were the best team that season and would have fought for the Scudetto until the end. Alas it was not to be and Lazio's dream was brutally shattered by global events.
In Europa League the Biancocelesti were eliminated in the group phase after 2 wins (Rennes 2-1 and Cluj 1-0 at home) and 4 defeats (Cluj 1-2 away, Celtic 1-2 home and away, Rennes 0-2 away).
In Coppa Italia Lazio went out to Napoli 0-1 away in the quarter finals.
It was in Serie A that Lazio will have eternal regrets.
Roma finished 5th and qualified for the Europa League. The Lupi then won 21, drew 5 and lost 10. They had an average season but finished well with 7 wins and a draw in the last 8 games and got into Europe. Top scorer was Edin Ďzeko with 19 goals (16 in A).
In the Coppa Italia, the Giallorossi reached the quarterfinals but lost 1-3 away to Juventus.
In the Europa League they reached the last 16 but were defeated 0-2 away to Sevilla.
With Juventus champions for the 36th time at the opposite end it was goodbye for now to Lecce, Brescia and SPAL (only the Salentini have made it back since).
The Coppa Italia was won by Napoli (Juventus on penalties) while the Europa League winners were Sevilla (Inter 3-2).
Let's talk about Luis Alberto
Luis Alberto Romero Alconchel is probably one of the most talented players ever to play for Lazio. A difficult player to manage though. He needs a lot of mental support to maximise his enormous potential.
Born in San Josè del Valle, near Cadiz, on September 28, 1992, “Il Mago”, as he is known in Italy, spent most of his youth career in Seville. In 2009 he started playing for Sevilla Atletico, the Sevilla reserve team, in the Liga Second Division. In 2010 he went back to the A team but only played 7 league games. After two years the club sent him to play with the Barcelona B team on loan where he did pretty well (38 league games-1 goals) and was “discovered” by Liverpool. He moved to Anfield in 2013 but again played very little (9 league games). In 2014 he was sent on loan to Malaga (15 league games-2 goals) and a year later to Deportivo La Coruña (29 league games-6 goals).
His career change came in 2016 when Lazio signed him from Liverpool. Initially the idea was that he was going to substitute Antonio Candreva who had been sold to Inter. However, unlike the former Lazio captain, Luis Alberto was not a winger and had difficulty adapting, and not only to the new style of play.
The change came in a match against Genoa on April 15 2017. Lazio were trailing 2-1 and Luis Alberto was thrown in ten minutes from the end in a desperate attempt to equalise. He scored his first goal for Lazio 11 minutes later and literally became another player. He played a couple of times towards the end of the season showing that he really could really play football if given the chance.
And the chance came at the beginning of the following season. Felipe Anderson was designated to be Ciro Immobile’s attacking partner but got injured during pre-season training. Luis Alberto was chosen as his replacement in the Supercoppa final against Juventus. He played well, Lazio won and the Spaniard went on to play 47 games, score 12 goals and provide 14 assists during the season. His next season was not so good but he was still one of the most important players capable of doing anything with the ball and he helped Lazio win the Coppa Italia.
Lazio became a strong contender for the Scudetto in 2019-20 but the Covid shutdown had negative effects on the team and the Biancocelesti struggled once the Serie A returned from lockdown. He however helped Lazio win the Supercoppa and finally reach a Champions League qualification.
In order to demonstrate his one good year - one not so good pattern, he was very inconsistent in 2020-21 and rumours of him wanting to return to Sevilla started being a recurrent in the Italian media, also because his beloved manager Simone Inzaghi had left Lazio. Maurizio Sarri, the new manager, confirmed Luis Alberto’s wish to go back to Spain but no decent offer arrived.
After struggling a bit with the new playing philosophy, Luis Alberto found consistency and a regular place on the team. In some matches, especially the more physical ones, Sarri left him on the bench since the three-man midfield made up of the Spaniard, a not so young Lucas Leiva and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was not really ideal when one has to run after the opponents. But, despite fake rumours in the Roman media about arguments between manager and player, Sarri always spoke very highly of Luis Alberto. “A very intelligent player”, he said of him.
Between the 2016-17 season and 2023-24, Luis Alberto played 307 games for Lazio (242 in Serie A, 15 in Coppa Italia, 14 in Champions League, 30 in Europa League, 3 in the Conference League and 3 in Supercoppa finals) and scored 52 goals (47 in Serie A, 1 in Coppa Italia, 1 in the Champions League, 2 in the Europa League and 1 in the Supercoppa). He won three trophies: a Coppa Italia in 2018-2019 and the Supercoppa twice (2017 and 2019).
In 2024 he left Lazio and joined Al-Duhail in Qatar. He would be missed at Lazio.
He has not had much luck with the Spain national team, having only made one appearance for his country. Luis Alberto has been consistently and mysteriously ignored by the various Spanish managers, even though he would thoroughly have deserved to play for "La Furia Roja".
Lazio Career
Season | Total played (Goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Europa League | Conference League | Super Coppa |
2016-17 | 10 (1) | 9 (1) | 1 | - | - | | - |
2017-18 | 47 (12) | 34 (11) | 3 | - | 9 (1) | | 1 |
2018-19 | 37 (6) | 27 (4) | 5 (1) | - | 5 (1) | | - |
2019-20 | 41 (7) | 36 (6) | - | - | 4 | | 1 (1) |
2020-21 | 40 (9) | 34 (9) | - | 6 | - | | - |
2021-22 | 44 (5) | 34 (5) | 2 | - | 8 | | - |
2022-23 | 44 (7) | 35 (6) | 2 | - | 4 (1) | 3 | - |
2023-24 | 44 (5) | 33 (5) | 2 | 8 | - | - | 1 |
Total | 307 (52) | 242 (47) | 15 (1) | 14 | 30 (3) | 3 | 3 (1) |
Sources
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