Lazio shocked by relegated Chievo

Date: 20th April 2019 at 5:07pm
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Already-relegated Chievo stunned Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico as the Biancocelesti dropped much-needed points in their pursuit of European football.

The Biancocelesti are in the fight for the Champions League places but have gained only four points from their last four matches and could have reduced the gap behind AC Milan to only one point with a win.

Lazio manager Simone Inzaghi decided to line his team up in a 3-5-2, as he did in midweek against Udinese, with Felipe Caicedo and Ciro Immobile starting together up top due to Joaquin Correa’s injury.

The match didn’t get off to a great start as defensive stalwart Stefan Radu suffered an injury in the 15th minute, before Sergej Milinkovic-Savic received a red card in the 35th minute for lashing out at Chievo’s Mariusz Stepinski.

After Milinkovic-Savic was sent off, Inzaghi decided to put on Marco Parolo for Patric and switched to more of a 2-5-2 with Durmisi and Marusic coming back more to help defend.

In the 41st minute, Immobile’s right-footed shot hit Bruno Cesar’s elbow in the box but after VAR consultation, no penalty was awarded. Beyond this Lazio did not have too many scoring chances in the first half as it took them some time to settle in after Radu’s injury and again after Sergej was sent off.

The second half started with a bang as 17-year-old Italian Emanuel Vignato slotted home his first Serie A goal to put Chievo ahead. Within minutes of the opener, the visitors struck again as Perparim Hetemaj headed home a perfect cross from Fabio Depaoli.

Lazio were stunned from these two goals and had a tough time getting back into the match which led to Inzaghi putting on Correa for the last third of the game to try and create some offence. The Argentine provided some creativity and pace giving Lazio life again. His brilliant running through the Chievo defence ended in Caicedo’s goal with roughly 25 minutes to play.

Lazio pressed on for the remaining time, with a few Chievo counterattacks launched in this time, but could not find a way to break them down and score again. In the final minutes with Lazio desperate for a tying goal Correa’s strike from the top of the box beat Chievo’s Semper but could not beat the post.

Youth Brings Three Points

This was a strong performance coming off of their defeat to Napoli last week. There were a lot of young players in the lineup who performed well including midfielder Vignato and fullback Depaoli.

With relegation already confirmed, the Flying Donkeys would be wise to integrate their youth into the lineup for the final weeks so the club can see which players will be able to help the club climb back into Serie A.

No Sergej, No Lazio

This needed to be a better performance considering the dropped points against SPAL and Sassuolo earlier in the month.

Milinkovic-Savic’s red card was a huge blow to the team but they still have enough quality throughout the lineup to come away with at least a point, especially when you desperately need it to stay within reach of the Champions League.

Correa was able to slightly turn the game around for the Biancocelesti but without Immobile and Luis Alberto playing at their best, this team will not be able to reach the Champions League places.

 

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