New Delhi: Lazio and Juventus shared the spoils in Rome on Sunday night, as the Bianconeri failed to capitalise on Inter’s shock defeat earlier in the day.
Pre-Match And Team News
Inter’s shock defeat at the hands of Atalanta in Bergamo earlier in the day meant that victory for the Bianconeri in this contest would leave them just one point adrift of the reigning champions. In addition to this, Milan’s victory over Fiorentina just 24 hours prior added further significance to this clash, as the Old Lady were desperate to restore their five point buffer over the third placed club.
As for Lazio, three points tonight could have seen them leapfrog Fiorentina into the top six for the first time in a little while, and their task was made easier by the fact that the coach Delio Rossi had a full strength squad at his disposal. The same could not be said for the coach of Juventus Claudio Ranieri however, who was without several of his stars, including his number one goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who was ruled out with a fever, and the injured Mauro Camoranesi, Giorgio Chiellini and Vincenzo Iaquinta, as well as the suspended Zdenek Grygera.
First Half
The Biancocelesti got the match underway in Rome earlier tonight, in front of a packed house at the Stadio Olimpico, and following an extremely frantic opening ten minutes or so, the first opportunity fell to the home side, when Goran Pandev played a glorious through ball wide to Mauro Zarate, who unfortunately couldn’t get a shot away.
Both sides struggled to impose themselves in the contest, as the possession was mainly won in the midfield; however it was Lazio that was looking the more likely to get forward and break the deadlock in the early stages.
Rossi’s men continued to press and began to dominate the possession and the play, as the likes of Amauri and Alessandro Del Piero had barely registered a touch for the visitors, after 20 minutes of play.
Stephan Lichtsteiner and Zarate had great opportunities within the space of two minutes to break the deadlock, as the Juventus midfield in particular continuously gave up the ball in dangerous positions. The home side were edging closer to that opening goal, and at this point it seemed a matter of when they would score, rather than if.
As expected, Lazio did manage to break the deadlock after 24 minutes, when Ledesma’s free kick from a dangerous crossing position sailed over the head of Manninger, following a dreadful error by the club’s number two goal keeper, who completely misjudged the flight of the ball. Lazio took a well deserved early advantage, and restarted the play with real confidence, as they were aware of the undefeated record, when scoring first in matches this season.
Just moments later, Lazio should have doubled their advantage, when Rocchi’s shot in a dangerous position spilled to Pandev in the area, and with the goal at his mercy and Manninger down, the Macedonian international was denied by Lorenzo Ariaudo.
Incredibly Juventus leveled the score line through Olof Mellberg on 30 minutes, who managed to score his first goal in a Bianconeri shirt with a header after a impressive corner by Marco Marchionni. It was to be their first shot of the match, and somehow the visitors were back in it, after just six minutes of going behind.
As the half neared an end, both sides had their moments, however neither looked like adding to their tally. The likes of Pandev, Rocchi and Zarate continued to threaten the opposing defence, whilst for Juventus, Sissoko and Nedved began to impose themselves physically in the match.
Neither side could alter the 1-1 score line, and that’s how it remained at the break, as the sides went in to the dressing rooms level at the half time interval.
Second Half
Neither coach made a change at the half time interval, as the second half got underway. As was the case in the opening 45 minutes, both sides took their time to impose themselves in the half, as both failed to do anything worth noting in the first five minutes or so.
Following this however, the half burst into life, as Juventus were the brighter this time around. Firstly Sissoko had a great opportunity to make it two for Juve, after a brilliant run; however his shot was weak and easily dealt with by Carrizo as a result. Amauri also began to have an effect on proceedings, as he had a chance to score from a header, as well as strong claim for what looked to be a penalty.
Both clubs went searching for answers, as it was evident that both were desperate to claim the three points. After 15 minutes of play in the second half, Del Piero and Amauri had already taken more possession than they did in the entire opening period, whilst Rossi made his first change of the match, bringing on Christian Brocchi for Meghni in the midfield.
Amauri tried to work himself into the match after the 70 minute mark, when he possessed the ball for a period of longer than a few seconds for the first time all night. His run was halted by Rozenhal just outside the area however, and as was the case for the large part of his night, the Brazilian born, possibly soon to become Italian international, was unable to have an impact on proceedings.
Just five minutes later, the home side found themselves on a promising counter attack, and when Zarate was played through, it looked as if the Biancocelesti would be able to restore their advantage. The only thing standing in his way was Molinaro however, who did brilliantly to deny the Argentinean from getting a shot on goal. The scores remained level, heading into the final ten minutes of play.
The Juventus captain Del Piero was removed from the field of play at this point for the lively Sebastian Giovinco, as the visitors started to get their numbers forward to give themselves every chance of narrowing Inter’s gap to just one point atop of the standings. It seemed an unlikely outcome however, as the match seemed destined to end all square.
Having said this though, Legrottaglie went close to scoring after 86 minutes, when his effort from all of 25 yards easily beat Carrizo, but was denied by the woodwork, which prevented the defender from capping off a dominant individual performance. Meanwhile, Lazio responded with a flurry of late bursts, as Pandev and Rocchi went close to scoring.
There were four minutes of additional time in the second half, however it wasn’t enough time for either side to take the lead, and as expected it ended all square between Lazio and Juventus at the Stadio Olimpico.
The result leave the Bianconeri on 40 points in second position, three adrift of the leader Inter, whilst Lazio are back in seventh, with 31 points recorded at the half way mark of the season.
TEAMS
Lazio (4-3-3): Carrizo; Lichtsteiner, Diakite, Rozenhal, Radu; Dabo (De Silvestri, 70’), Ledesma, Meghni (Brocchi, 63’); Pandev, Zarate (Foggia, 76’), Rocchi
Juventus (4-4-2): Manninger; Mellberg, Legrottaglie, Ariaudo, Molinaro; Marchionni, Sissoko, Zanetti (Marchisio, 70’), Nedved; Del Piero (Giovinco, 80’), Amauri
GOALS
24’ Ledesma (Lazio)
29’ Mellberg (Juventus)
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