Murgia completes a remarkable comeback as Lazio turn it around in Arnhem

Simon Basten

Sep 14, 2023

3 min read

Season 2017-18

Game 1, Group Stage, Europa League

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Gelredome, Arnhem

Vitesse Lazio 2-3

Twice behind in Arnhem, Lazio rally after the break as Parolo, Immobile and Murgia complete a thrilling comeback.

The season so far

Today was the first match of Europa League. Lazio were paired with Vitesse, today’s opponents, Zulte Waregem and Nice.

The match

Lazio began their 2017–18 Europa League campaign with a memorable 3–2 comeback victory over Vitesse at the GelreDome in Arnhem. Twice behind, Simone Inzaghi's side recovered through goals from Marco Parolo, Ciro Immobile and Alessandro Murgia, with the latter producing the decisive moment 15 minutes from time.

With a demanding run of Serie A fixtures ahead, Inzaghi opted for significant rotation. Thomas Strakosha started in goal behind a three-man defence of Bastos, Stefan de Vrij and Luiz Felipe, while Adam Marušic and Jordan Lukaku occupied the flanks. Parolo, Davide Di Gennaro and Murgia formed the midfield, with Luis Alberto supporting Felipe Caicedo. It was also Di Gennaro's competitive debut for Lazio.

The heavily rotated Lazio controlled much of the first half without producing enough in the final third. Luis Alberto came closest when he headed just wide from Marušic's cross, while Caicedo also caused problems for the Dutch defence. Vitesse, however, were dangerous whenever they counter-attacked, with the pace of Milot Rashica proving particularly troublesome.

The hosts eventually took the lead in the 33rd minute. Rashica escaped down the right and delivered an excellent cross towards the far post, where Tim Matavž was left unmarked and calmly turned the ball into the net. Lazio had enjoyed possession but found themselves behind at the interval.

Inzaghi responded immediately at half-time, sending Immobile onto the pitch for Luiz Felipe and changing the system to a back four. The effect was dramatic. Lazio suddenly had a genuine focal point in attack and began playing with considerably greater intensity.

The equaliser arrived in the 51st minute. After a series of ricochets around the edge of the penalty area, the ball fell to Parolo, who struck a superb left-footed shot beyond goalkeeper Remko Pasveer. At 1–1, Lazio were back in the game.

Yet their defensive problems had not disappeared. Just six minutes later Vitesse regained the lead. Rashica was again involved, delivering another dangerous ball from the right after Lazio failed to deal with the situation, and Bryan Linssen arrived to fire the hosts into a 2–1 advantage.

For several minutes Lazio looked vulnerable. Vitesse had the opportunity to extend their lead, with Matavž forcing Strakosha into an important save and Bruns narrowly missing another chance. But Lazio survived—and their superior individual quality gradually began to tell.

Inzaghi introduced Sergej Milinković-Savić for Di Gennaro and later brought on Senad Lulić for Lukaku. Luis Alberto dropped deeper to help dictate the play, while the introduction of the regular first-team players gave Lazio greater authority in midfield.

The equaliser came in the 67th minute. Milinković-Savić helped initiate the move before Caicedo produced an excellent back-heel to release Immobile. The striker made no mistake, calmly sliding the ball into the corner for his first Europa League goal with Lazio.

The comeback was completed seven minutes later.

Immobile was again at the centre of the action, receiving the ball and playing a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Alessandro Murgia. The young midfielder showed remarkable composure, resisting the challenge of Van der Werff before finishing past Pasveer to make it 3–2.

It was another decisive moment in Murgia's remarkable early Lazio career. Just a month after scoring the winning goal against Juventus in the Italian Super Cup, he had once again stood out and scored an important late winner.

Vitesse refused to surrender. Rashica continued to cause problems and, in the closing stages, substitute Luc Castaignos had a golden opportunity to equalise, heading over the crossbar. Lazio survived the final pressure and secured three points from a match that had appeared to be slipping away from them twice.

For Lazio, it was an ideal start to their European campaign: a 3–2 victory, three points away from home and a comeback that demonstrated character.

Who played for Vitesse

Pasveer, Dabo (82' Kolkett), Van der Werff, Kashia, Miazga, Buttner, Bruns (88' Mount), Linssen, Foor, Rashica, Matavz (79' Castaignos)

Substitutes: Houwen, Van Bergen, Lelieveld, Faye

Manager: Fraser

Who played for Lazio

Strakosha, Bastos, de Vrij, Luiz Felipe (46' Immobile), Marusic, Parolo, Di Gennaro (61' Milinkovic-Savic), Murgia, Lukaku (67' Lulic), Luis Alberto, Caicedo