Lazio mostly controlled the tempo in their trip to the Stadio Arechi but fell in an infuriating 2-1 loss to Salernitana.
The Biancocelesti came into the match with confidence after a decent spell before the recent international break, picking up a key Champions League victory over Feyenoord and picking up a point in a tense Derby della Capitale with Roma.
Salernitana have been in disastrous form this season and replaced Paulo Sousa with Filippo Inzaghi at the start of last month, hoping the former striker could turn things around in Salerno. The team managed to pick up just two points from their last seven league matches.
With their heads held high, Lazio travelled south to the Stadio Arechi for their Saturday afternoon clash with Salernitana. Maurizio Sarri’s side looked positive in the early stages of the match and a few forays forward in the first half an hour showed the team’s control.
Things were fairly balanced as the first half started to draw to a close, until Norbert Gyomber brought down Ciro Immobile in the penalty area in the 43rd minute. After confirmation from VAR, the Biancocelesti captain stepped up to the plate.
Immobile made no mistake from 12 yards out, comfortably dispatching the penalty in the bottom right corner of the net, giving Lazio a deserved 1-0 lead heading into the break.
Unfortunately for Sarri and Lazio, their control of the ball meant little as Salernitana continued to look threatening on the break.
The home side’s efforts were finally rewarded in the 55th minute, when a Pasquale Mazzocchi cross was met by a stretching Antonio Candreva, whose close-range header was poked away by Ivan Provedel.
The Lazio goalkeeper couldn’t parry the ball to safety, however, and Grigoris Kastanos pounced, easily poking the ball in the back of the net to tie things up.
Lazio tried to respond after this, but their efforts failed to yield an advantage, giving the home side confidence.
In the 66th minute, a lay-off from a freekick by Kastanos allowed Candreva to take a touch before blasting the ball from around 40 yards out. His shot soared past Provedel, putting Salernitana 2-1 up.
The Biancocelesti pushed forward to try and find an equaliser but again fell flat in the final third, allowing the Granata to escape with their first victory of the season.
This team is poor. Do they really want Sarri to be sacked?