Serie A – Lazio vs Sassuolo: Following a demoralising result against Roma in the Derby della Capitale, Lazio needed a comeback. An injury-ridden Sassuolo were their opponents to regain their lost confidence.
Their clash at the Stadio Olimpico ended 2-1 in favour of the hosts. Who looked dangerous and created plenty of chances by stealing possession in dangerous positions. The club made the most of their chances with Lazzari and Milinkovic-Savic scoring in the 17th and 51st minutes respectively.
The visitors did create a few chances and were menacing on the flanks. However, they were unable to convert the chances and clearly felt the absence of Berardi. Traore managed to get his team a consolation goal in the 94th minute of the contest.
As a result of this fixture, Lazio and Sassuolo sit in the 5th and 9th places respectively.
Serie A – Lazio vs Sassuolo: Lineups
Lazio (4-3-3): Strakosha; Lazzari, Patric, Acerbi, Marusic; Milinkovic-Savic, Lucas Leiva, Luis Alberto; Zaccagni, Immobile, Felipe Anderson.
Subs: Reina, Adamonis, Hysaj, Kamenovic, Akpa Akpro, Cataldi, Basic, Luka Romero, Raul Moro, Cabral. Coach: Sarri.
Sassuolo (4-3-3): Advice; Muldur, Ayhan, Ferrari, Kiriakopoulos; Frattesi, Henrique, Defrel, Raspadori, Traore, Scamacca.
Subs: Vitale, Pegolo, Magnanelli, Rogerio, Oddei, Ciervo, Peluso, Harroui, Chiriches, Toljan, Samele, Tressoldi. Herds Dionisi.
Managers’ reaction
Lazio manager Maurizio Sarri: “We reacted well, it wasn’t easy tonight due to the Derby weighing incredibly heavy on us. There was a risk that we could’ve had another poor display, instead we had a high-level performance against a very good team.
“The Derby weighed on us from a morale point of view. It’s not that we just lost a game and were left with a disappointment from a sporting point of view. We didn’t even play.
“I arrived at Formello (the training centre) with a sense of shame towards the supporters and those who work here at Lazio. It’s not simply due to the defeat but how it came about.”
Sassuolo manager Alessio Dionisi: “We certainly paid for the parking. We lost important players but we could certainly have done better, especially in the first half characterized by many technical errors. However, we remained in the game. The second goal for me is a non-goal, taken by pure chance. Perhaps with all the recovery that should have been due, the match would have had another outcome, but it is useless to complain even if several times the Lazio players have spent a bit too much time on the ground.
“We made too many mistakes in the first half, risking even beyond the goal we conceded. Too bad, also because we still had the first chance of the match and then also took a pole. The fact remains that Lazio deservedly won. There was less desire to win and to get the better of the opponents in duels: it seemed as if we wanted to be affected and they were more determined, usually this does not happen. We have lowered the pace too much, allowing our opponents to restart making mistakes that are not usual for us.”
