Simone Inzaghi’s side looked a shadow of the team that tore Serie A defences apart with regularity last season as they toiled to a disappointing eighth-place finish.
Key players like Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Luis Alberto and Ciro Immobile failed to replicate their form of a year earlier but it was the capital club’s crippling inconsistency that ultimately ended their Champions League hopes, particularly the unforgivable defeat at home to already-relegated Chievo over Easter weekend.
They exited the Europa League to Sevilla in the last 32 with little more than a whimper, but the season was saved with victory in the Coppa Italia, securing European qualification for next season.
Player of the Season: Francesco Acerbi
Acerbi was handed the daunting task of filling Stefan De Vrij’s shoes when he arrived from Sassuolo last summer, but he proved to be an upgrade on the Dutchman as he helped the club concede three fewer goals than in 2017/18.
The 31-year-old missed just one game in all competitions, through suspension, and instilled much-needed leadership, experience and composure to the Lazio backline.
Best signing: Joaquin Correa
After Acerbi, Correa made the biggest impact of the new boys. The Argentine needed time to settle, initially being used predominantly as an impact substitute as he adapted to a new style and role.
However, in the final months of the season he hit top form, particularly in the Coppa Italia, where he scored the winning goals in both the semi-final and final.
The Coach: Simone Inzaghi
This has been Inzaghi’s most trying season yet on the Lazio bench as he struggled to get his team playing with the same style and swagger as last season and wrestled with inconsistency.
As a result, he’s had to face his most vociferous critics yet, but the Coppa Italia triumph was the crowning glory of his time as coach and sparked a storm of speculation that Juventus and Milan were interested.
Memorable moment
Lazio saved their best performances of the season for the Coppa Italia, knocking out both Milan clubs before conquering Atalanta with a mature performance in the final, rescuing a campaign that was otherwise set to be written off as a disaster.
However, the 3-0 win over Roma in March’s Derby della Capitale will be remembered as the moment of the season for most fans, being the joint-biggest winning margin in the club’s history against their rivals.
The Bad
On the pitch, the spectacular dip in form of Milinkovic-Savic, Alberto and Immobile was disappointing, as well as the failure of summer signings like Milan Badelj, Valon Berisha and Riza Durmisi to make much impact.
Off the pitch, the racist abuse directed at Tiemoue Bakayoko by travelling Lazio fans at San Siro was disgraceful and to make matters worse, it wasn’t dealt with strongly enough by authorities or the club.
