It had been a hectic week for Vladmir Petkovic and his Lazio side going into the weekends encounter with Sampdoria. An evidently tiring fixture at home to Inter last weekend meant that the coach could rotate his squad for what was meant to be a straight-forward Coppa Italia tie with Siena on Wednesday afternoon.
Last weekend’s hard fought battle with Nerazzurri saw Lazio assert themselves back into the fold for their targeted third place finish, the 1-0 victory was an indication to the work Petkovic has done since taking to the helm. The team as a group seems to be more together than ever, and this seems to be guiding them to where they currently sit in the table.
With a squad that included season debutants of Mobido Diakite and Juan Pablo Carrizo, Petkovic fielded a near reserve squad to face Siena for the cup tie midweek. Senad Lulic and Hernanes were two of the only regurlars that started, and the rotated squad struggled to gather momentum.
After going one nil down thanks to an own goal from Lorik Cana, Michael Ciani eventually levelled in the 95th minute to send the match into extra time. The Biancoceleste went onto seal their passage to the quarter-finals via penalty shoot-out and will now face Catania at the Stadio Olimpico on January 8th.
Saturday’s match against Sampdoria was another test for the team, and was to be the last of 2012. The coach stressed before the match that his players needed to act maturer on the road in order to gain the win. Home form hasn’t been a problem for Lazio so far, it has been picking up points on their travels that has been faultering for a team fighting for those top spots.
A 30th minute strike from Hernanes meant that it would take a mature Lazio to see out the match in Genova, and Petkovic was pleased with what he saw. Finishing the match as 1-0 winners, the Biancoceleste recorded yet another clean sheet. Defensively Lazio have been superb of late, and it seems that many teams are finding it a task to break through the wall erected by the tactician.
It was back in early November when Lazio last lost a Serie A match, and since then the Biancoceleste have gone on to form a formidable run of results. Conceding just three goals since the thrashing at Catania, Lazio are finding continuity at last and gaining momentum on a weekly basis. At this stage last year, Edy Reja’s Lazio had picked up thirty points, compared to the thirty-six Petkovic has accumulated so far.
Aswell as finishing the year in a great league position, Lazio managed to come through their Europa League group as winners. Petkovic’s preferance of keeping the core of his squad playing together certainly seems to be paying off, and the Bosnian coach can now look forward to facing Borrusia Monchengladbach in the last 32.
After the victory against Sampdoria on Saturday, Lazio’s captain Stefano Mauri told his official website that “It’s not easy to get three points away from home in a difficult arena to overtake Inter into second place. A great Lazio performance. Do you think they might start talking about us now? Maybe..”
Yet while Mauri suggests that the media should be shining a light on Lazio’s form, Petkovic seems more content with working in the shadows. The coach will now be focussing on recovering his squad ready for a testing 2013. After returning from the same break last year, Lazio travelled to Siena to receive a 4-0 thumping. It is vital that the Aquile pick up where they left off in 2012, as the squad resume against Cagliari on January 5.
