Napoli-Lazio 0-1
NET: 34′ st Isaksen.
NAPLES (4-3-3): Meret 6; Di Lorenzo 6, Rrahmani 5.5, Buongiorno 6, Olivera 5; McTominay 6 (37′ st Raspadori sv), Lobotka 6 (37′ st Gilmour sv), Anguissa 6.5 (47′ st Folorunsho sv); Politano 5.5 (31′ st Neres 5.5), Lukaku 5 (47′ st Simeone sv), Kvaratskhelia 5.5. On the bench: Caprile, Contini, Juan Jesus, Marin, Zerbin, Ngonge, Spinazzola. Coach: Conte 5.5.
LAZIO (4-2-3-1): Provedel 6; Marusic 6 (47′ st Gigot sv), Gila 6.5, Romagnoli 6.5 (16′ st Patric 6), Nuno Tavares 6.5; Dele-Bashiru 7, Guendouzi 6.5; Isaksen 7 (47′ st Lazzari sv), Dia 5 (27′ st Noslin 6.5), Zaccagni 5.5; Castellanos 5 (27′ st Pedro 5). On the bench: Mandas, Furlanetto, Bordon, Castrovilli, Tchaouna. Coach: Baroni 6.5.
REFEREE: Colombo of Como 6.
NOTES: Rainy evening; playing field weighed down by rain. Booked: Dia, Guendouzi, McTominay, Rrahmani, Castellanos. Corners: 6-2 for Napoli. Recovery: 2′; 6′.
Napoli falls again at home, after Atalanta Lazio who in recent seasons has been Maradona’s bête noire. And the ranking changes: now Gasperini is in the lead, who with the Dea is in full swing for the scudetto. Baroni, on the other hand, is enjoying a Lazio at full capacity, now third on equal points with Fiorentina (eighth win in a row) and Inter, while Juve and Milan are losing ground. Whatever the case, it’s a thrilling five-way race at the top: now Atalanta 34 , Napoli 32, Inter, Fiorentina and Lazio 31. And in the next round Lazio-Inter.
Second victory in a few days for the Capitoline against the Azzurri, who after having exited the Italian Cup also lost the top of the Serie A standings, to the advantage of Atalanta. The home team made a good start to the match, with a tricky cross to the near post by McTominay which was however blocked for a corner by Provedel. In the 15th minute the Biancocelesti responded with a shot from Nuno Tavares, on which a deflection from Politano was decisive. Marco Baroni’s boys begin to increase the pace and in the 20th minute they become dangerous with a shot from Isaksen, sent for a corner kick by Meret. Two minutes later, a header from Castellanos created trouble in the Italian rearguard, but match director Colombo stopped everything due to a foul on Di Lorenzo. After a moment of difficulty, Napoli reappeared in the opponent’s penalty area with conclusions from Anguissa and Politano, which however were inaccurate. In full stoppage time of the first half Kvaratskhelia tries from distance but comes close to the top corner.
In the second half, Lazio immediately came very close to taking the lead with Dele-Bashiru, who hit the crossbar with his right foot in the 52nd minute. In the 61st minute Romagnoli was forced to leave the pitch due to injury and Patric came on in his place. In the 70th minute Isaksen attempted a shot, but was blocked by Meret, while a minute later Anguissa chipped the post following a corner kick taken by Kvaratskhelia, equalizing the score on the woodwork. Marco Baroni sends fresh forces onto the pitch and the Noslin move turns out to be a good one, as in the 79th minute he manages to trigger Isaksen towards goal: the Dane centralises, goes past Olivera and paints an uncatchable trajectory with the left foot, giving his team the lead. The final assault by the Campanians does not change the fate of the match: the Romans win 1-0 against “Maradona”. Party for Lazio, long faces at Napoli.