Lazio found redemption in their return match against FC Midtjylland, securing an important 2-1 win at home.
The Biancocelesti suffered an incredibly painful 5-1 loss to the Danish outfit in their first Europa League meeting last month and needed a strong result yesterday to try and take a step toward the knock-out stages of the competition.
All four teams in Group F were tied on five points heading into yesterday’s round of games and Lazio’s win takes them top, tied on points with Sturm Graz. The team will now be hoping to book their spot in the Round of 16 with a positive result against Feyenoord next week.
Lazio were the better team on the night at the Stadio Olimpico yesterday, dominating the ball and completing more than 200 passes more than Midtjylland. They fell behind early after a Gustav Isaksen opener but Sergej Milinkovic-Savic slotted the ball home to find a vital equaliser nine minutes before the half time break.
Maurizio Sarri’s side came out swinging in the second half and their efforts were rewarded in the 58th minute, when Pedro’s strike found the back of the net, putting them 2-1 up.
Lazio remained solid throughout the rest of the half and thought they’d put the game to bed in the 80th minute thanks to another Pedro strike, but this was ruled out after a VAR check due to an offside. Despite this, they held firm and saw out their victory, guaranteeing all three points.
It was an impressive and important night for Lazio, who found their second consecutive win without star striker Ciro Immobile, who is unavailable due to a hamstring injury.