After such an important 2-1 victory against Inter last weekend, Lazio faced off against Genoa at the Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris in another important match to keep pace with Juventus in the Scudetto race.
Genoa vs Lazio: First Half
The first half saw Simone Inzaghi’s men immediately take the lead with a lovely attacking play as Felipe Caicedo played a pass into the path Adam Marusic who slid in to blast the ball into the top corner. The tempo seemed to settle down as both sides got scoring opportunities.
Genoa vs Lazio: Second Half
The second half was the defining forty-five minutes for Lazio’s Scudetto race. Less than ten minutes into the half, a chance broke for the Biancocelesti as a pass to Caicedo didn’t go through. However, the deflection fell into the path of Ciro Immobile who slotted the ball into the bottom right corner to double Lazio’s lead, and put the Italian striker on 27 goals in 25 games in Serie A.
Several minutes later, a ball was played to the top of Lazio’s box by Genoa midfielder Peter Ankersen found Francesco Cassata who took a first time shot as the ball flew into the top right corner. Genoa reduced the lead to one goal and the momentum seemed to be shifting in their favor. Just under fifteen minutes later, Genoa players protested for a penalty as the ball struck the tucked-in arm of Danilo Cataldi. There was no call. Match official Fabio Maresca, however, awarded a freekick to Lazio right at the top of Genoa’s box for a foul by Genoa defender Adama Soumaoro for the play that followed the potential handball.
Cataldi stepped up, struck the ball perfectly over the wall and into the net to restore Lazio’s two-goal lead just moments after potentially giving Genoa a way back into the match. The toughest moments of the match came right at the end when another potential handball was protested by the Genoa players after the ball struck the arm of Manuel Lazzari. Maresca went to check VAR and upon further review, the penalty was awarded to Genoa. Genoa’s main man Domenico Criscito stepped up and converted from the spot to put them once again within one goal of Lazio just as five minutes of stoppage were added. Lazio did have many chances to put the game to bed but just couldn’t finish. Even without their main man Francesco Acerbi in the back three, Lazio defended well for the last dying moments of the match to secure the three points.
Final Thoughts
Lazio’s win now means that they are just one point away from title defenders Juventus who sit in first place and go five points clear of Inter who have a game in hand which was postponed along with several Serie A matches due to a Coronavirus outbreak in certain regions of Italy.
