A thrilling Europa League clash at the Stade Velodrome between Olympique Marseille and Lazio ended 2-2 last night.
Coach Maurizio Sarri was left feeling a little frustrated after the Roman club dropped a 2-1 lead to allow the Ligue 1 side a share of the points, after a tough and tiring match in South France.
Below are the two starting lineups in Lazio’s 2-2 draw with Olympique Marseille:
- Lazio (4-3-3): Thomas Strakosha; Manuel Lazzari, Luiz Felipe, Francesco Acerbi, Elseid Hysaj; Luis Alberto, Lucas Leiva, Toma Basic; Felipe Anderson, Ciro Immobile, Pedro.
- Olympique Marseille (3-2-3-2): Pau Lopez; William Saliba, Duje Caleta-Car, Luan Peres; Boubacar Kamara, Matteo Guendouzi; Pol Lirola, Dimitri Payet, Gerson; Cengiz Under, Arkadiusz Milik.
Video: Dimitri Payet Scores Late Equalizer for Marseille Against Lazio
Marseille got off to a strong start in the match and had the lion’s share of the early chances, with a Payet free-kick and Milik header both threatening to put the French side ahead early in the first half.
In the 23rd minute, Lazio faced an unexpected difficulty when Lazzari suffered a muscle problem that required him to be switched with Adam Marusic.
Five minutes later and contact between Acerbi and Milik in the penalty area draws protests from the French side, who were eventually awarded a penalty after a VAR check. Milik made no mistake from 12 yards and buried home the shot, putting Marseille 1-0 up after 32 minutes.
In the dying minutes of the first half, Lazio suffered a rollercoaster of emotions, with Felipe Anderson’s goal initially being ruled offside before a VAR check confirmed that it was a legitimate goal, tying the game up at 1-1 in the 45+4th minute.
Video: Ciro Immobile Makes History With 160th Lazio Goal in Match Against Marseille
Lazio came out swinging in the second half and Immobile took advantage of Saliba’s mistake to put the Roman club ahead, making it 2-1. It was a record-breaking goal for the 31-year-old Italian striker, who has now surpassed Silvio Piola to become the club’s all-top time scorer.
In the 60th minute, Marseille almost equalised, with Under’s cross surprising Strakosha; luckily for him, it bounced off the post. However, Marseille eventually found what they were looking for in the 81st minute when Payet scored from a rebound to make it 2-2.
The French side continued to fight for the full three points and in the 90th minute, Payet’s long-range effort hit the crossbar, scaring Strakosha and the rest of the squad. Lazio held on, however, and picked up a hard-earnt point in Marseille.
The Biancocelesti remain in second place in Group E with five points from four matches (1W-2D-1L), three points behind leaders Galatasaray. Their next Europa League match is against Lokomotiv Moscow in Russia on 25/11/2021.
