At the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Lazio and Udinese played out one of the most entertaining matches of the Serie A campaign.
Maurizio Sarri made several changes to the starting lineup that beat Atalanta in the Coppa Italia semi-final on Wednesday. Luca Pellegrini started his first match in almost two months, joining Manuel Lazzari, Alessio Romagnoli, and Oliver Provstgaard at the back. Patric acted as a Regista between Toma Basic and Kenneth Taylor, while Matteo Cancellieri and Tijjani Noslin flanked Boulaye Dia in attack.
Udinese boss Kosta Runjaic kept his usual 3-5-2 formation, with the young Idrissa Gueye replacing Keinan Davis in attack, linking up with Nicolo Zaniolo. Hassane Kamara and Kingsley Ehizibue took the wing-back roles, with Arthur Atta, Jakub Piotrowski, and Jurgen Ekkelenkamp forming the midfield trio.
The visitors squandered a big chance in the 7th minute. Ekkelenkamp picked the pocket of Lazzari, allowing the Zebrette to launch a swift counter-attack. Kamara played a square ball towards the mouth of the goal, but Gueye couldn’t connect with it, as the chance went begging.
After failing to heed the first warning, Lazio found themselves trailing after 18 minutes. Zaniolo put Piotrowski through with a clever pass, but the midfielder couldn’t beat Edoardo Motta.
Nevertheless, the Biancocelesti failed to clear the ball properly, and Ehizibue pounced on the loose ball with a riffling shot that almost tore the roof of the net. The Lazio goalkeeper was in the right position to make the save, but it was simply too powerful to be handled.
Following a miserable first half, Lazio reentered the pitch with a more positive demeanor, and it didn’t take them long to equalize. Pedro, who replaced Dia, took the corner kick long. The ball evaded everyone, bounced off the pitch twice before reaching Pellegrini, who smashed it home with real venom. Maduka Okoye put a hand to it, but the power took it past him.
After scoring the equalizer, Pellegrini almost provided the assist for Noslin from a through ball, but the Dutchman’s effort was just high. Pedro then picked up Isaksen with a sublime cross. The Dane’s excellent first touch gave the edge over Oumar Soulet, and he then dribbled past the Udinese defender and attempted a shot, but Okoye managed to stick out a leg, and the ball bounced off the crossbar.
At the other end of the pitch, Adam Buksa and Zaniolo wasted two golden chances from long range.
In the 80th minute, Lazio completed the comeback with a marvellous curling effort that sailed past Okoye before landing in the far corner. Fisayo Dele-Bashiru had the opportunity to give the home side a two-goal cushion. The Nigerian lunged forward on a solo run and did everything right, but just couldn’t hit the target.
Dele-Bashiru’s miss proved costly, as Udinese levelled the score almost instantly. Zaniolo’s cross found Vakoun Bayo, whose header was stopped by Motta. However, the Lazio goalkeeper couldn’t clear the ball properly, allowing Atta to pounce on the rebound with a simple tap-in.
In the 92nd minute, Udinese’s French midfielder completed his brace by latching on to a loose ball following a corner. The slight deflection off Nuno Tavares was enough to deceive Motta.
Just when Udinese were preparing to celebrate, the hosts burst forward on one last attack, and it yielded yet another equalizer.
Isaksen’s cross was headed goalwards by Alessio Romagnoli, but it was denied by the post. Nevertheless, Pedro picked up the rebound and found Daniel Maldini with a square ball. The Atalanta loanee latched onto it, but didn’t celebrate his goal at first, speculating an offside call. However, the VAR swiftly confirmed he was in a regular position.
Maldini’s goal gave Lazio a precious point that allowed them to overtake Bologna in 8th place, thanks to a superior head-to-head.
Goals: 18′ Ehizibue (U), 50′ Pellegrini (L), 80′ Pedro (L), 86′ – 93′ Atta (U), 94′ Maldini (L)
Lazio (4-3-3): Motta; Lazzari, Romagnoli, Provstgaard, Pellegrini (83′ Tavares); Basic, Patric, Taylor (46′ Dele-Bashiru); Cancellieri (65′ Isaksen), Dia (46′ Pedro), Noslin (76′ Maldini).
Udinese (3-5-2): Okoye; Kristensen, Kabasele (82′ Zarraga), Solet; Ehizibue, Ekkelenkamp (69′ Buksa), Piotrowski (65′ Miller), Atta, Kamara (82′ Arizala); Zaniolo, Gueye (82′ Bayo). Available : Nunziante, Sava, Padelli, Mlacic, Camara, Vinciati. All. : Runjaic.
Referee: Bonacina (Bergamo section); Linesmen: Palermo – Zanellati; 4th Official : Marchetti; VAR : Camplone; AVAR : Maggioni
Yellow cards: 41′ Cancellieri (L), 57′ Pellegrini (L), 90′ Zarraga (U), 97′ Patric (L)