September 23, 2018: Lazio - Genoa 4-1
Eagles destroy Griffons
Lazio's goal machine reactivates for convincing win over Genoa
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 at home by Inter and overtaken by the Nerazzurri. 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 conceded 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: 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). In January they would add midfielder Romulo (Genoa-on loan).
Leaving Rome were: keeper Federico Marchetti (Genoa), defender Stefan de Vrij (Inter), midfielder Davide Di Gennaro (Salernitana - on loan), Felipe Anderson (West Ham United) plus forwards Filip Djordjevic (Chievo) and Nani (Valencia - end of loan and then Sporting Lisbon). In January defender Martín Cáceres would leave (Juventus-on loan).
In Serie A Lazio had so far played four games. They had lost the first two (Napoli 1-2 at home and Juventus 0-2 away) but won the next two (Frosinone 1-0 at home and Empoli 1-0 away).
Lazio had also started their Europa League campaign with a 2-1 home win over Apollon Limassol. The group included Eintracht Frankfurt and Olympique Marseille.
Genoa had finished 12th the previous season. They had started with manager Ivan Juric (1-12) and continued with former Lazio, Davide Ballardini (13-38). The games against Lazio had ended 3-2 to the Biancocelesti in Genoa but 2-1 to the Rossoblu in Rome. The top scorer was Gianluca Lapadula with 6 league goals. The squad included Lazio connections; Goran Pandev (2004-09) and Santiago Gentiletti (2014-16).
This season the manager was initially Juric but he had been sacked after the first game and replaced by Ballardini again. The main new arrivals were; goalkeepers Ionuț Radu (Inter-on loan via Avellino) and Federico Marchetti (Lazio), defenders Domenico Criscito (Zenit St. Petersburg but previously at Genoa), Koray Günter (Galatasaray) and Cristian Romero (Belgrano), midfielders Romulo (Verona but then Lazio in January), Sandro (Benevento but would go to Udinese in January), Luca Mazzitelli (Sassuolo-on loan) and Esteban Rolón (Malaga-on loan) plus forwards Christian Kouamé (Cittadella), Krzysztof Piątek (KS Krakow but he would leave in January for Milan) and Andrea Favilli (Ascoli). In January they would add: defender Giuseppe Pezzella (Udinese-on loan), midfielders Lukas Lerager (Bordeaux), Ivan Radovanović (Chievo) and Stefano Sturaro (Juventus via Sporting Lisbon) plus striker Antonio Sanabria (Betis Sevilla-on loan).
Leaving were; goalkeepers Mattia Perin (Juventus) and Eugenio Lamanna (Spezia), defenders Santiago Gentiletti (Albacete), Armando Izzo (Torino), Luca Rossettini (Chievo), Francesco Migliore (Cremonese) and Aleandro Rosi (Perugia), midfielders Isaac Cofie (Sporting Gijón), Adel Taarabt (Benfica), Luca Rigoni (Parma) and Diego Laxalt (Milan) plus forward Andrej Galabinov (Spezia). In January they would also let go of defender Nicolás Spolli (Crotone-on loan).
So far Genoa had won 2 (Empoli 2-1 and Bologna 1-0 at home) and lost 2 (Milan 1-2 away on debut and Sassuolo 3-5 away).
In the Coppa Italia the Grifone had reached the 4th round by beating Lecce 4-0 at home in August, with four goals by Piątek. Next up was a derby with Virtus Entella (Chiavari) in December.
A balanced game was expected in the capital today. Both teams were on six points. Genoa however had a good recent tradition in Rome against Lazio, winning in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2018 so Lazio had to be careful.
The match: Sunday, September 23, 2018, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A hot and sunny day brought about 30,000 to the Olimpico for a 3 pm kick-off.
Federico Marchetti, who had played 194 games for Lazio, got a warm welcome back. He was also the keeper in the epic 2013 winning cup final against Roma.
Lazio were without defenders Luiz Felipe and Stefan Radu while the only surprise was Felipe Caicedo playing instead of Luis Alberto.
Genoa were missing defender Cristian Romero, midfielder Miguel Veloso and forward Gianluca Lapadula while Goran Pandev was on the bench not fully fit.
The first threat towards goal was by Wallace from a Lucas Leiva free kick but his header was high.
In the 7th minute Lazio went in front. On a long ball to the right of the area Senad Lulic headed back across goal, Marco Parolo couldn't reach it but the ball bounced and in came Caicedo who dived and headed in, 1-0.
Genoa responded with Krzysztof Pionţek but his low shot was weak and central.
A few minutes later Parolo freed himself cleverly and shot from the long range but the ball went inches wide of the post.
In the 23rd minute Lazio doubled the score. Daniel Bessa was naively dispossessed by Caicedo and Parolo and the midfielder then placed a perfect first time low pass to Ciro Immobile who reached the ball inside the area on the left and beat his old teammate Marchetti with a low strike on the far post, 2-0.
Iuri Medeiros then showed good skills weaving his way to the edge of the area but his low effort was slightly deflected and finished just wide of the left post.
In the 27th minute Genoa made their first substitution as defender Nicolas Spolli, already booked and in difficulty, was replaced by forward Christian Kouamé.
Immobile again tried an ambitious curling shot from the left side of the area but it was way off target.
Genoa came again and Kouamé had a shot but like Pionţek previously it lacked power and precision and Thomas Strakosha was unperturbed by the Ivorian's effort. Halftime: Lazio 2 Genoa 0.
The second half was barely underway when Genoa reopened the game. After only 39 seconds Koaume worked the ball well on the left of the area and squared to Pionţek but Francesco Acerbi appeared to be able to anticipate him however the ball ricocheted off the Polish striker and fell perfectly for an easy finish, 2-1. A fortuitous goal but the Griffon vultures had struck, game on.
Genoa's hopes did not last long as in the 53rd minute Lazio restored their two goal cushion. Lulic crossed well from the left and Sergej-Milinkovic Savic rose up imperiously and headed down past Marchetti, 3-1. A wonderful header.
A few minutes later the Rossoblu took off midfielder Romulo and threw on forward Darko Lazovic.
Lazio now were having fun and produced some excellent team moves. They went close to a fourth goal with Caicedo, Milinkovic-Savic, Immobile and Parolo.
Meanwhile both sides made more changes; for Lazio, Joaquín Correa and Milan Badelj came on for Caicedo and Milinkovic-Savic while for Genoa, Sandro replaced Medeiros.
The game was totally in Lazio's hands but they made one more substitution in the 86th minute when Adam Marusic was taken off and Patric got a few minutes.
The deserved fourth goal finally came in the 89th minute. Correa astutely freed himself on the right side of the area and shot low, Marchetti saved with a foot but Immobile pounced on the rebound and made it 4-1 and final score.
A convincing win for Lazio. In the second half especially, Lazio had run riot. Lucas Leiva had been outstanding and the new Immobile-Caicedo partnership had worked well.
Genoa had been poor. They started defensively (3-5-2) and were too static and then became more ambitious (3-4-2-1) but unbalanced. In the second half Lazio could have scored four or five goals.
Next up for Lazio in Serie A was a trip to Udine while Genoa would meet Chievo at home. Lazio were now 5th on 9 points while Genoa were 12th on 6 points.
Who played for Lazio
Strakosha, Wallace, Acerbi, Cáceres, Marusic (86' Patric), Parolo, Leiva, Milinkovic-Savic (71' Badelj), Lulic, Caicedo (62' Correa), Immobile
Manager: S.Inzaghi
Who played for Genoa
Marchetti, Biraschi, Spolli (27' Kouamé), Zukanovic, Gunter, Romulo (57' Lazovic), Bessa, Hiljemark, Criscito, Medeiros (62' Sandro), Piaţek
Substitutes: Radu, Vodisek, Lakicevic, Mazzitelli, Pedro Pereira, Rolon, Omeonga, Pandev, Dalmonte
Manager: Ballardini
Referee: Abisso
Goals: 7' Caicedo, 23' Immobile, 46' Piaţek, 53' Milinkovic-Savic, 89' Immobile
What happened next
In Serie A Lazio finished 8th on 59 points. In the remaining games the Biancocelesti won 14 (including Inter 1-0 away), drew 8 and lost 11. 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 got through the first phase defeating Marseille twice (3-1 and 2-1) but by losing to Eintracht Frankfurt twice and Apollon Limassol they finished 2nd and had to go to a playoff round. They played Sevilla and lost 0-3 on aggregate despite performing well in both games.
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 Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Joaquín Correa. The season therefore ended triumphantly with Lazio's 7th domestic cup win (plus a Europa League qualification).
Genoa finished 17th on 38 points and only stayed up for having a better record in the direct clashes with Empoli. They changed managers twice more; after the 8th game Juric returned for six games but was then replaced by Cesare Prandelli for the last twenty-three. After today they won 6 (including Lazio 2-1 and Juventus 2-0 at home), drew 14 (including Juventus away and a derby both 1-1) and lost 13 (including derby against Sampdoria 0-2). The top scorer was Piątek with 19 goals (13 in A) despite leaving in January.
In the Coppa Italia they lost to Virtus Entella on penalties (after a 3-3 draw).
The 2018-19 Scudetto was won by Juventus for the 35th time while Empoli, Frosinone and Chievo were relegated. Lazio won the Coppa Italia and Chelsea (under Maurizio Sarri) the Europa League.
Lazio Jersey 2018-19
Images Sources: SS Lazio Museum (first two), Football Kit Archive (the rest except goalkeeper red - reproduced with AI)
The home shirt was the historic "maglia bandiera" (flag shirt) first worn in 1982-83. The stylized dark blue eagle spanned all along the chest and onto the sleeves. The shirt was divided in two colours, the top half was white while the bottom half was light blue. The v-neck collar was light blue as were the shorts and socks.
The technical sponsor was Macron. From the beginning of the season until December 31 2018 the main sponsor was the Russian betting company Marathonbet while Seleco appeared on the lower back of the shirt.
The away shirt was white with a light blue band across the chest and down the arms. The collar was white with a light blue line. The shorts and socks were white. This shirt was also used in the Europa League.
The third shirt was the same design as the second shirt but dark blue with a light blue band. The shorts were dark blue with a light blue stripe down the sides and socks were also dark blue.
The main goalkeeper's shirt was the "flag shirt" but black with a light blue eagle and a light blue collar. There were also two alternatives: red or green but without the eagle.
Sources
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