2020/21 Serie A, Lazio 1-1 Juventus: Match Report

On Sunday, November 8, 2020, the Stadio Olimpico hosted Lazio vs Juventus in Matchday 7 of the 2020/21 Serie A. The final score was a 1-1 draw between Simone Inzaghi and Andrea Pirlo’s teams; Lazio’s record is now 3W-2D-2L (11 points) in the top flight of Italian football.

Referees

The Head Referee for this clash was Davide Massa, the Assistant Referees were Meli and Alassio, the Fourth Official was Sacchi, and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was Mazzoleni with the assistance of Cecconi.

Managers

Lazio: Simone Inzaghi

Juventus: Andrea Pirlo

Starting Lineups & Substitutions

Lazio (3-5-2): Reina, Luiz Felipe, Acerbi, Radu (54′ Hoedt); Marusic, Milinkovic-Savic, Cataldi (76′ Akpa Akpro), Luis Alberto (76′ Pereira), Fares (54′ Lazzari); Correa, Muriqi (54′ Caicedo)

Juventus (4-4-2): Szczęsny; Cuadrado, Bonucci, Demiral, Danilo; Kulusevski (76′ McKennie), Rabiot, Bentancur, Frabotta; Morata (88′ Bernardeschi), Ronaldo (76′ Dybala)

Goalscorers

Juventus: Ronaldo (15′)

Lazio: Caicedo (90+4′)

Player Ratings

Inzaghi 7 | Reina 6.5, Luiz Felipe 6.5, Acerbi 6.5, Radu 6.5 (Hoedt 6); Marusic 6, Milinkovic-Savic 6.5, Cataldi 6 (Akpa Akpro 6.5), Luis Alberto 6.5 (Pereira 5), Fares 5 (Lazzari 6); Correa 7.5, Muriqi 5.5 (Caicedo 8)

Recap

Lazio started quickly, pressing high, and trying to prevent Juventus from creating anything. Juventus played out of back even under these circumstances and fared quite well, breaking through the Lazio midfield with ease. The Biancocelesti then started to control possession and looked the better of the two sides, creating a lot more chances. However, right before the 15′, Juventus were the team to take the lead.

Juan Cuadrado beat Luis Alberto and Mohamed Fares way too easily from Juventus’ own half down the right flank. He passed the ball infield to Rodrigo Bentancur, and as Lazio did not mark properly (leaving Cuadrado wide open on the right flank) the Uruguayan returned it to him. The Colombian then sent a pass across Pepe Reina’s six-yard box where a wide-open Cristiano Ronaldo was waiting. Luiz Felipe was in no man’s land, failing to mark the Portuguese attacker; despite Francesco Acerbi trying to intercept the pass, there was no chance of Ronaldo missing the opportunity.

While that looked to be the turning point in the match, Lazio rebounded well and stuck to their game plan. They created a few more chances, with the best coming in 20’. Stefan Radu sent a brilliant cross into the back post where Sergej Milinkovic-Savic had made a perfectly timed run. He won the header, sending the ball across Szczęsny’s six-yard box, but it was just out of reach for Vedat Muriqi. Lazio continued to look threatening after this but failed and struggled to complete that final pass in Juventus’ final third.

Right before half-time, it was Juventus who had the final two chances. In the 42’, off of a counter, Cristiano Ronaldo struck the right post from just outside the box after receiving a pass from Dejan Kulusevski. Then, in the 45′, Kulusevski made a darting run but Danilo Cataldi fouled him just outside the 18-yard-box, resulting in a free-kick. Ronaldo took the set-piece with a well-struck shot directed towards the top left corner, but Pepe Reina made an excellent save.

In the second half, Lazio continued on the front foot. In the 48′, Adam Marusic struck the ball well with his left foot, but the ball went just wide of the left post. Just before the 70′, Correa looked lively as he waltzed into the Juventus 18-yard-box; however, the final pass was once again lacking. 10 minutes later, it was Lazio once again who were knocking on Juve’s door. Milinkovic-Savic sent a cross towards the back left post where Adam Marusic was waiting. While he beat Cuadrado to the header, it was not taken correctly as it went straight at Szczęsny.

In the final stages of the game, it was very cagey with players on both sides drawing and taking fouls. Lazio looked predictable, with Juve trying to break on the counter. While it looked as if the match was about to end in a Bianconeri victory, Felipe Caicedo once again struck for Lazio late (in the final minute and final play to be exact) to secure a point.

Tags 2020/21 Serie A Andrea Pirlo Biancocelesti Bianconeri Inzaghi Juventus Lazio Pirlo Serie A Simone Inzaghi Stadio Olimpico