Lazio thrash Sampdoria to continue Champions League hunt

Date: 22nd April 2018 at 4:53pm
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A dominant Lazio picked Sampdoria apart at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday to secure an easy 4-0 win in Serie A.

The Aquile’s early pressure told as Sergej Milinkovic-Savic met a dangerous cross with a low diving header, before centre-back Stefan De Vrij rose to nod home from a corner on the stroke of halftime.

After missing a sitter earlier in the half, top scorer Ciro Immobile put the match beyond reach in the dying minutes when he tucked home Milinkovic-Savic’s low cross, before breaking the offside trap and burying the ball into the back of the net for his 29th goal of the season.

Lazio started brightly and were keeping hold of the ball in around the final third, without letting Sampdoria get a foothold. Felipe Anderson received the ball in midfield and drove forward before attempting to thread Ciro Immobile in, but his pass was overhit.

Immobile was offering a threat by drifting wide, and a mazy run from the left past a handful of Sampdoria defenders was brought to a halt in the box by a well-timed Joachim Andersen tackle.

The visitors were simply not getting enough bodies forward to relieve the pressure, as a quick Gianluca Caprari counter-attack left the forward with only Duvan Zapata to aim at. The Colombian was crowded out and could not meet the resulting cross.

Lazio stepped up a gear midway through the first half, with Anderson in particular looking to push his team on.  The Brazilian charged down the right before rolling a low cross through a crowded box that evaded everyone. Jordan Lukaku followed up from the other side of the area, and Lucas Torreira breathed a sigh of relief as his sliced clearance flew over his own crossbar.

Yet it was Sampdoria that came closest to breaking the deadlock on the half-hour mark. A bending corner was punched clear but only as far as Edgar Barreto on the edge of the box. The Paraguayan met the ball with a stinging half-volley that looked destined for the back of the net, only for Thomas Strakosha to react quickly and parry clear.

The sustained Lazio pressure finally told soon after as the hosts took the lead. With the Aquile piling forward, Lukaku cut back for Stefan Radu to deliver a dangerous cross into the box. Milinkovic-Savic read the move well and stepped across Ivan Strinic to meet the ball with a low header from close range, giving Emiliano Viviano no chance.

Having gone in front, the hosts showed no signs of relenting. Anderson skipped into the box and released a snapshot that Viviano palmed away, and the goalkeeper reacted well to push away Immobile’s low follow-up effort.

It was all too easy for Lazio and they doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time. A cleared corner landed in the path of Adam Marusic and his vicious low effort was tipped around the post. From the resulting delivery, De Vrij escaped his marker to nod home from close range.

Almost immediately after the restart the Biancoceleste ought to have scored a third, only for Immobile to squander a glorious opportunity to put the game beyond doubt. Milinkovic-Savic’s low drive was blocked by Viviano, before Immobile smashed the follow up into the side-netting, despite being in acres of space and having an open goal at his mercy.

Sampdoria attempted to hit back quickly, with Dennis Praet’s well-weighted pass releasing Zapata. The Colombian outpaced Radu but saw his low shot fly inches past the far post.

Having dominated for the opening hour, Lazio allowed complacency creep in and Sampdoria began to keep the ball and fashion openings. Substitute Dawid Kownacki collected the ball in the middle and unleashed a powerful effort, but Strakosha blocked well.

With only 20 minutes remaining, Lucas Leiva received a short corner and whipped in a dangerous cross for Martin Caceres, but the Uruguayan couldn’t make strong enough contact to guide the ball on target at the back post.

Caceres was almost on hand again late on to put the game to bed. Viviano’s poor punch from a corner allowed Milinkovic-Savic to strike from outside the box, and whilst the shot was charged down, the block deflected off Caceres and trickled just wide of the empty net.

Lazio finally got the goal they deserved and Milinkovic-Savic was at the heart of the action once more. The Serbian sent in an accurate low cross from the byline, and Immobile made no mistake in tapping in from close range this time.

The Italian striker completed his brace minutes later, as he broke the offside trap to meet Nani’s through ball and sidefoot past Viviano.

It was an easy victory for Lazio, as the Aquile move level on points with Roma and remain in fourth. Sampdoria, meanwhile, find themselves out of the European spots in eighth place.

 

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