Lazio Club Focus: Trampled by the Elefanti

Date: 20th February 2014 at 3:11am
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A capitulation in Sicily at the hands of Catania is by no means a new experience for laziali. In fact the limp, lifeless 3-1 defeat witnessed on Sunday was a marked improvement on the equivalent fixture from last season, a humiliating 4-0 drubbing. Go back another season and again the Elefanti emerged victorious, on that occasion by the slender margin of 1-0.

However, there are several circumstances that make Sunday’s abject performance the most worrying in this line of setbacks. Firstly, and perhaps most obviously, Catania are not the team they once were. Last season the Etnei took Serie A by storm, playing an attractive brand of football and inspired by the performances of Francesco Lodi and Alejandro Gomez.  They would finish the season in eighth place with a club record points total.

Fast forward nine months and the side that lined up against Lazio this weekend were rooted to the bottom of the table having scored a measly sixteen goals in twenty three matches. This was their fourth win all season and their first in the last six attempts. Alarm bells ringing in Rome?

There was predictably a large amount of criticism directed at the team and coach for a result and performance that seemed completely at odds with the apparent progress that had been made in Edy Reja’s second tenure at the club. The defining characteristics of his side have been, as always, a well-organised defence and pragmatic tactical approach. For this reason, it was baffling to see the side that had recently conceded only one goal in two matches against the league’s most potent attacking sides in Roma and Juventus crumble within seconds of each half kicking off. The truth is that the Biancoceleste were deservedly and thoroughly beaten and second best in every aspect of the contest.

This was also the first obvious example of Reja’s inability to react to a losing position in a positive way, as the coach waited until there were only twenty minutes left to introduce the youthful attacking threats of Brayan Perea and Keita Balde Diao. His pragmatic, bordering on negative, mentality was one of the main reasons he ended up leaving the club first time round, and the fans will lose patience if Zio Edy continually fails to adapt when his original game plan falls apart.

The fixtures are coming thick and fast now, with the Europa League last 32 ties against Bulgarian dark horses Ludogorets Razgrad taking place in the next two weeks. A home game against the struggling Sassuolo on Sunday is the ideal opportunity to give a confident display and prove that the Catania result should be considered a one-off.

Despite the undoubted improvements being made under Reja, the Biancoceleste continue to languish in mid-table obscurity and with only fourteen rounds remaining they must find some consistency if they are to achieve their aspirations of finishing in the top six.

Follow Alasdair Mackenzie on Twitter: @olimpiacalcio

 

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