In-form Petagna staking a serious claim for Italy inclusion

Date: 15th September 2019 at 7:29pm
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Andrea Petagna was instrumental for SPAL as they overturned a 1-0 deficit to beat Lazio 2-1 at the Stadio Paolo Mazza on Sunday afternoon and Italy coach Roberto Mancini could do worse than to consider the forward for his upcoming squads.

Ciro Immobile converted a first-half penalty for Lazio to send them in ahead at the break, but Petagna and Jasmin Kurtic bagged in the second half to ensure the Biancocelesti left empty-handed.

Petagna has to be a real option for Italy

Andrea Petagna is hard to stop when he’s in the mood, and despite being quiet for much of the first half against Lazio he produced a stunning and out-of-character scissor-kick to get the hosts back on terms.

From then, he was a different player. Always involved, linking play, holding up the ball and bullying defenders, the 24-year-old showed gimpses of his very best self.

The strike was his second of the season after he enjoyed his most fruitful campaign in 2018/19 with 16, and if he impresses again this term he’ll be rightfully expecting to earn a call from Roberto Mancini ahead of next summer’s European Championship.

Italy are lacking a forward in form and Ciro Immobile appears unable to replicate his club form when he pulls on the Azzurri shirt, giving Petagna every chance of playing his way into the setup.

Even if he’s not the most technically gifted or mobile of forwards, he would offer Italy a Plan B that shouldn’t be sniffed at. Whether it’s to hold onto a lead or to desperate seek an equaliser, SPAL’s No.37 could bring something to Italy that they don’t currently have.

SPAL summed up in an afternoon

A lot of the talk in the press box on Sunday for the first 45 minutes was focused on SPAL’s apparently imminent survival struggles. The Biancazzurri have taken serious steps to establishing themselves as Serie A regulars in the last two seasons, but their lack of activity this past summer has some worried.

Their impressive second half shouldn’t completely overshadow their anonymous first and, as against Atalanta in round one, they disappeared for worryingly long spells.

Manuel Lazzari was a big loss for them when he left for Lazio, and SPAL didn’t reinforce as most of those around them did during the transfer window.

Federico Di Francesco and a couple of others will be useful, but the squad at Leonardo Semplici’s disposal is considerably weaker this season than it was last.

SPAL will always be capable of upsetting bigger sides, particularly at home, but they are lacking in quality and they’ll likely have to make some signings in January if they want to avoid being involved in a relegation battle come April and May.

Serie A’s kick-off times need looking at

Away from the football, but these Serie A kick-off times aren’t good for anyone. The first two rounds saw no games played before 18:00 CEST due to the high summer temperatures and, in truth, that’s something that should have continued into this round as well.

It may be September, but it’s still summer weather in Italy, even up north. The heat was intense in Ferrara, it made for a slow start to the game and it probably contributed to the chaos at the end of the game as well, with legs undoubtedly feeling heavier.

Water breaks in each half played their part as over 103 minutes were played as seven and six minutes were added at the end of each half.

From next season, Lega Serie A should seriously consider limiting the kick-off times for another couple of weeks, and maybe even into October.

Lazio packed up at half time

With a 1-0 lead at the break and not looking troubled at the back, the points seemed safe for Simone Inzaghi’s side after the first 45 minutes.

The hosts hadn’t really threatened and the Biancocelesti were comfortable. But then they didn’t reappear for the second half and after as little as five minutes was played it became clear that if any team were to leave with three points, it wasn’t going to be them.

They were completely anonymous for the second half and nobody did anything worthy of a mention other than Luis Alberto going close from a freekick.

Lazio almost clung on to escape with a point but even if they had it would have been thoroughly undeserved.

 

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