Lazio saw their European adventure come to an abrupt end after a painful 2-1 loss to AZ Alkmaar in the second leg of their Europa Conference League Round of 16 tie.
The odds were stacked against Maurizio Sarri’s side heading into the match in the Netherlands after their miserable 2-1 loss to the Eredivisie outfit in their first leg clash in Rome last week, and the Biancocelesti were unable to find the right formula for victory as they fell in another lethargic defeat.
Felipe Anderson opened the scoring for Lazio after just 21 minutes and early signs were positive for Sarri’s team, but this initial fire was soon snuffed out by the home side, who scored an equaliser just seven minutes later to draw AZ level.
AZ continued to look stronger in possession in the second half and eventually their pressure overwhelmed Lazio, allowing Evangelos Pavlidis to double the Dutch club’s lead after 62 minutes to put them in the quarter-finals of the Conference League.
Sarri highlighted after the match how Lazio are clearly unable to compete on multiple fronts and this match was a perfect example of that, with the Biancocelesti looking tired and off the mark across the 90 minutes.
Lazio will need to bounce back fast and put this elimination behind them as they prepare to face inter-city rivals Roma in the Derby della Capitale on Sunday 19th March.
