Lazio disappointed in their UEFA Europa League opener, losing 1-0 away to Turkish side Galatasaray.
At the Turk Telekom Stadium in Istanbul, coach Maurizio Sarri’s side failed to get off the ground, with the hosts clearly in control throughout the match.
Below are the two starting lineups that were selected for the match:
Galatasaray (4-2-3-1): Fernando Muslera; DeAndre Yedlin, Victor Nelsson, Marcao, Patrick van Aanholt; Berkan Kutlu, Taylan Antalyali; Olimpiu Morutan, Alexandru Cicaldau, Kerem Akturkoglu; Halil Dervisoglu.
Lazio (4-3-3): Thomas Strakosha; Manuel Lazzari, Luiz Felipe, Francesco Acerbi, Elseid Hysaj; Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro, Lucas Leiva, Luis Alberto; Felipe Anderson, Ciro Immobile, Mattia Zaccagni.
Photo: Lazio Star Milinkovic-Savic Included In Europa League Most Valuable XI
Galatasaray clearly started with the momentum and maintained a good amount of possession in the first half, with Morutan’s shot hitting the crossbar in the 23rd minute.
Little changed for another 20 minutes, with the hosts struggling to break Lazio down.
Akpa Akpro picked up Lazio’s first yellow card of the game in the 42nd minute, following his foul on Marcao.
Just before half-time, Marcao then was involved in a challenge with Immobile in the penalty area, but referee Matej Jug deemed it to be a legal tackle.
Galatasaray Forward Dervisoglu: “Lazio Are Tough, but We Know What We Can Do”
The second half started with a repeat of the first, with Galatasaray maintaining their control, having a decent chance following a bad mistake by Luiz Felipe.
In the 55th minute, Sarri took off Immobile and Akpa Akpro and replaced them with Vedat Muriqi and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
Lazio’s first genuine goal-scoring opportunity came in the 58th minute, with fast movements leading to a Luis Alberto shot, which was followed up by a decent low cross from Muriqi.
After this chance, the momentum shifted back into the Turkish side’s favour, with two chances coming in quick succession just after the hour mark.
Sarri made two more changes in the 66th minute: Toma Basic and Pedro in for Luis Alberto and Felipe Anderson.
Only a minute after this change, Galatasaray took the lead following a truly horrific mistake by goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha.
A fairly innocuous cross was floated in by Morutan, which was stopped by a poor deflection from Lazzari. The ball spiraled high into the air and Strakosha spilled it, scoring an own goal in the 67th minute.
Lazio almost found a quick equaliser in the 70th minute, with Acerbi playing a nice pass to Milinkovic-Savic, who attempted to lob Muslera, without success.
Galatasaray made their first changes in the 78th minute, with Antalyali and Kerem coming off for Emre Kilinc and Ryan Babel.
Sarri’s last substitution came in the 83rd minute when he replaced Leiva with Danilo Cataldi.
Lazio tried to force a late equaliser but little came about, with Galatasaray managing to close out the game.
This was a disappointing night for Lazio, whose Europa League opener saw them lose to Galatasaray 1-0.
