Lazio-Juventus 1-0
NETWORK: 9′ pt Basic.
LAZIO (4-3-3): Provedel 6; Lazzari 5.5 (9′ st Pellegrini 6), Gila 6.5, Romagnoli 6, Marusic 5.5; Guendouzi 6, Cataldi 6, Basic 7 (23′ st Vecino 6); Isaksen 7 (37′ st Pedro sv), Dia 5 (37′ st Noslin sv), Zaccagni 6. On the bench: Mandas, Furlanetto, Patric, Belahyane, Hysaj, Provstgaard. Coach: Sarri 6.5.
JUVENTUS (3-5-2): Perin 6; Kalulu 6, Gatti 6 (41′ st Joao Mario sv), Kelly 6; Conceicao 6.5, Koopmeiners 5 (21′ st Thuram 6), Locatelli 5.5, McKennie 5 (33′ st Openda sv), Cambiaso 6 (1′ st Yildiz 5.5); David 4.5 (21′ st Kostic 6), Vlahovic 5. On the bench: Di Gregorio, Fuscaldo, Zhegrova, Adzic, Miretti, Rugani, Felipe. Coach: Tudor 5.
REFEREE: Colombo of Como 5.
NOTES: overcast sky; playing field in excellent condition. Booked: Koopmeiners, Lazzari, Locatelli, McKennie, Kelly, Guendouzi. Corners: 5-2 for Juventus. Recovery: 1′; 5′.
Lazio regained the three points at home by beating Juventus 1-0 in the match that closed the eighth day of Serie A. Despite the absences, the Biancocelesti played the match with the mentality and the “sacrifice” required by Sarri and rose to 11 points, one point behind the Bianconeri, who suffered a third consecutive defeat between the championship and the cup: overall, Tudor’s team had not won for eight matches, since the one won against Inter on 13 September. And above all it is the fourth game without goals. Basic decided the match at the Olimpico. There were many refereeing controversies during the match (which will probably follow in the post-match). Sarri proposes Isaksen and Zaccagni as starters and, to make up for the absence of Tavares, moves Marusic to the left with Lazzari on the right. In Juventus, for the first time Vlahovic and David play together from the first minute, with Yildiz initially sitting on the bench due to slight knee discomfort. Isaksen himself stands out after a few minutes with a special slalom but without finding any teammates in the area. The Biancoceleste goal (which will be decisive) arrives in the 9th minute: David completely misses the ball for McKennie, Cataldi recovers the ball and passes it to Basic, who shoots and beats Perin, thanks to Gatti’s deflection. The Juventus response is entrusted to Conceicao, through whom most of the guests’ initiatives come, as on the occasion of the cross for Cambiaso, whose shot goes off the side of the net.
Then, Gatti blocks a shot from Guendouzi and Provedel is excellent in his exit on David, author of an extremely subdued performance, as well as Vlahovic and Dia: a decidedly complicated evening for the center forwards of both teams. Upon returning from the locker room, Tudor breaks the delay and brings on Yildiz, who however fails to make an impact. Juve showed up with a crossbar from Vlahovic from a few steps away (but Kelly was offside) and a harmless shot from Locatelli, but in the 56th minute Lazio protested, asking for a second yellow card for McKennie. A few minutes pass and it is the Bianconeri who protest due to a contact between Gila and Conceicao, judged not to be a foul by Colombo. Provedel was ready for Thuram’s header, while Isaksen, author of a great game, came close to doubling the lead in the 79th minute. Paradoxically, despite the score, it is Lazio who is looking for the second goal rather than Juve who is chasing the equalizer: even Pedro, who has just come on, comes very close to scoring, missing the big target by very little. The final effort, complete with a central header by Thuram, was not enough for the guests, who returned to Turin without points.