Lazio were held to a frustrating 2-2 draw with Cagliari at the Stadio Olimpico yesterday.
The Roman club fielded a full-strength squad for the match against the Rossoblu, although coach Maurizio Sarri was watching on from the stands following his red card against AC Milan. A new coach was also present on the Cagliari bench, with Walter Mazzarri overseeing his first game in charge.
Below are both Lazio and Cagliari’s starting lineups for the match (via Lazio):
Lazio (4-3-3): Pepe Reina; Manuel Lazzari (75′ Adam Marusic), Luiz Felipe, Francesco Acerbi, Elseid Hysaj; Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Lucas Leiva (65′ Danilo Cataldi), Luis Alberto (88′ Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro); Pedro (65′ Mattia Zaccagni), Ciro Immobile, Felipe Anderson (88′ Raul Moro).
Cagliari (4-4-2): Alessio Cragno; Martin Caceres (56′ Gabriele Zappa), Luca Ceppitelli, Andrea Carboni, Charalampos Lykogiannis (74′ Raoul Bellanova); Nahitan Nandez, Razvan Marin, Alessandro Deiola, Dalbert (56′ Sebastian Walukiewicz); Joao Pedro (88′ Leonardo Pavoletti), Keita Balde (74′ Gaston Pereiro).
Video: Substitute Danilo Cataldi Equalizes for Lazio vs Cagliari
Lazio were in clear control throughout the first half against Cagliari but struggled to make incisive into the final third as the Sardinian side played a physical and defensive game.
Their breakthrough finally came in the dying minutes of the first half, with Immobile scoring with a well-placed header following a cross from Milinkovic-Savic.
The second half kicked off and within seconds the Biancocelesti were suddenly on the back foot, with the Rossoblu making a quick attacking movement. Joao Pedro scored from this attempt, tying the game up at 1-1 only a minute into the second half.
A tough battle followed and Lazio had a few half-hearted attempts before Cagliari managed to take the lead following a nice move between Joao Pedro and Keita Balde, with the former Biancocelesti man scoring to make it 2-1.
Video: Ciro Immobile Scores Header to Give Lazio a 1-0 Lead vs Cagliari
Lazio didn’t give up, however, and two quick chances followed, with Immobile’s shot hitting the crossbar.
Finally, a breakthrough came in the 83rd minute, with substitute Cataldi scoring with a powerful shot launched just under the crossbar to tie the game up at 2-2.
In the dying minutes of the match, Zappa was sent off following a challenge on Zaccagni, where he picked up his second yellow of the match.
A frustrating 2-2 draw for Lazio and their third game in a row now without a win, a frustrating situation for Sarri, who could only watch on from the stands.
