Top 30 Winning Upsets (1980-2026) - Part Four
- Dag Jenkins
- Jul 16
- 3 min read
More games between 2006 and 2019 in which Lazio upset the odds to clinch surprise victories.
Lazio played their bitter city rivals on December 10, 2006. Roma had finished 2nd the previous season and were currently again 2nd in the table, only four behind leaders Inter. Lazio were 16 points behind in 7th (they had started at -3 due to the betting scandal).
Roma's manager was Luciano Spalletti and the squad included Christian Panucci, Phillippe Mexes, Christian Chivu, Daniele De Rossi, David Pizarro, Mancini, Francesco Tavano, Mirko Vučinić and Francesco Totti. In 2nd place in Serie A, Roma came from six consecutive wins (including Milan 2-1 away and Catania 7-0 at home). The Giallorossi were also doing well in the Champions League and had recently qualified for the last 16. Roma were overwhelming favourites tonight.
Lazio won 3-0 with goals by Cristian Ledesma, Massimo Oddo and Massimo Mutarelli.
To explain the level of joy this win brought it is sufficient to say that to celebrate Lazio manager Delio Rossi threw himself in the famous Fontanone (Fontana dell'Acqua Paola) on the Janiculum Hill...
Lazio played Roma on March 19, 2008. Roma were fighting for the Scudetto and were 2nd in the table, on 61 points (-6 from leaders Inter). The Giallorossi had won the Supercoppa in August (Inter 1-0 win) and came from a 2-1 home win over Milan. Lazio were having a mediocre season and were 11th, on 34 points and had already lost 10 league matches (including first derby 2-3).
Roma's manager was Luciano Spalletti and they had players such as Christian Panucci, Juan, Philippe Mexès, Ludovic Giuly, Daniele De Rossi, Mancini, David Pizarro, Mirko Vučinić and of course Francesco Totti.
Lazio won 3-2. Roma went 1-0 up with a freakishly lucky Rodrigo Taddei goal, Goran Pandev equalised just before halftime, a Tommaso Rocchi penalty put Lazio in front, Simone Perrotta levelled but finally Valon Behrami clinched it in the 93rd minute!
An epic derby for Lazio. A last gasp winner to cancel your biggest rivals from the title race... it doesn't get much better than that.
Lazio - Inter 1-0, 2014
Lazio played Inter on January 6, 2014. Inter were 5th on 31 points and had just won the Milan derby 1-0. Lazio were 10th on 20 points and only six from the drop zone. They had started with Coppa Italia winning manager Vladimir Petkovic but he had been replaced by Edy Reja after the 1-4 defeat at Verona before the Christmas break. This was Reja's second debut for Lazio. The opponents were no walkovers, Inter.
The Inter manager was Walter Mazzarri and included players such as Samir Handanovic, Javier Zanetti, Walter Samuel, Mateo Kovacic, Fredy Guarin, Esteban Cambiasso, Diego Milito and Mauro Icardi.
Lazio won 1-0 with a goal by Miro Klose in the 81st minute.
A great win and a breath of fresh air for Lazio.
Lazio played Juventus on October 14 2017. Juventus were reigning champions and currently 2nd in the table (-2 Napoli). Lazio were 4th on 16 points but had not won in Turin in the league since 2002.
Juventus, with manager Max Allegri, had players such as Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli, Mehdi Benatia, Sami Khedira, Rodrigo Bentancur, Miralem Pjanic, Blaise Matuidi, Juan Cuadrado, Douglas Costa, Mario Mandžukic, Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala and more.
Lazio won a dramatic match 2-1. Juve went up with Douglas Costa but a Ciro Immobile double overturned the score. In the 94th minute the hosts were awarded a penalty but Thomas Strakosha pulled off a brilliant save to deny Dybala.
An epic away league win against Juventus after 15 years of trying. Juve went on to win Serie A and the Coppa Italia but today Turin was light blue and white.
Lazio played Atalanta on May 15, 2019, in the Coppa Italia final. In the league Atalanta were on 65 points while Lazio had 58. In December Atalanta had beaten Lazio 1-0 at home while just 10 days before today the Bergamaschi had cruised to a 3-1 win at the Olimpico. This was a different competition but the Nerazzurri were considered favourites this evening.
The Atalanta manager was Gian Piero Gasperini and the Dea had players such as Rafael Toloi, José Luis Palomino, Hans Hateboer, Remo Freuler, Marten de Roon, Mario Pašalić, Robin Gosens, Josip Iličić, Duván Zapata and Alejandro "Papu" Gomez.
Lazio won 2-0 with goals by Sergej-Milinkovic-Savic and Joaquín Correa. It was a tough match but a header by the strapped up Serb substitute (82') and goal by the Argentine (90') won Lazio their 7th Italian Cup.
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