A tense Europa League clash between Lazio and Olympique Marseille ended in a goalless draw last night.
Neither side managed to break the deadlock in a tough and physical encounter, a game in which both teams looked more dangerous from counter-attacks than buildup play.
Below are the two starting lineups in Lazio’s 0-0 draw against Olympique Marseille (via Lazio):
- Lazio (4-3-3): Thomas Strakosha; Manuel Lazzari, Luiz Felipe, Francesco Acerbi, Adam Marusic; Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Danilo Cataldi, Toma Basic; Felipe Anderson, Ciro Immobile, Mattia Zaccagni.
- Olympique Marseille (3-3-3-1): Pau Lopez; William Saliba, Duje Caleta-Car, Luan Peres; Valentin Rongier, Boubacar Kamara, Matteo Guendouzi; Cengiz Under, Dimitri Payet, Pol Lirola; Arkadiusz Milik.
Lazio came onto the Stadio Olimpico pitch with a point to prove but it was Olympique Marseille that started the game with more momentum, with Under and Milik sharing some early chances in the opening 20 minutes.
The flow of the match switched and the Biancocelesti had a few chances in a row, with Basic and Luiz Felipe both failing to beat Pau Lopez.
In the 39th minute Under took a dangerous shot but Strakosha pulled off an important save to deny what would have been the opening goal.
The first half ended, with both teams having a few chances but mostly getting dragged into midfield battles.
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In the second half Lazio came out swinging and Immobile had a decent chance before scoring a goal in the 58th minute, which then was correctly ruled out for offside, much to the disappointment of the celebrating fans inside the ground.
Coach Maurizio Sarri made three changes before this chance, switching out Milinkovic-Savic, Felipe Anderson and Basic with Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro, Pedro and Luis Alberto.
Both teams had shared a few vaguely threatening chances before Immobile’s strike hit the crossbar in the 68th minute.
In the 77th minute, Sarri made his final two changes, bringing off Zaccagni and Cataldi and replacing them with Raul Moro and Lucas Leiva.
The game slowed down and a few half-hearted efforts in the final 20 minutes closed out the match, with Raul Moro’s close-range attempt being the closest real scoring opportunity.
Lazio remain in second place in Group E with four points from three matches (1W-1D-1L), three points behind leaders Galatasaray.
