The Laziali
·28 dicembre 2024
The Laziali
·28 dicembre 2024
After winning their last 11 Serie A contests, Atalanta saw their historic run come to an end at the Stadio Olimpico, as they only managed to snatch a late against Lazio thanks to a late equalizer.
Marco Baroni made an interesting tactical tweak, bringing in Fisayo Dele-Bashiru as a third midfielder alongside Nicolo Rovella and Matteo Guendouzi in a 4-3-3 system, while Loum Tchaouna and Mattia Zaccagni flanked Taty Castellanos upfront.
The Argentine strike came close to scoring through a double-chance in the 11th minute, but Marco Carnesecchi pulled off two saves to deny him, before being beaten by Matteo Guendouzi’s long-range effort. However, the post came to the Italian goalkeeper’s aid.
Nevertheless, the Biancocelesti eventually took a deserved lead when Rovella’s astonishing vertical ball put Dele-Bashiru through on goal. The Nigerian timed his run to perfection before maintaining his composure to put a clinical shot past Carnesecchi.
After the interval, Gian Piero Gasperini’s substitutions made an immediate impact, with Juan Cuadrado setting the left flank ablaze. However, the Colombian only managed to hit the side netting when meeting Raoul Bellanova’s inch-perfect cross, while Ademola Lookman also squandered a few glorious chances, with Luca Pellegrini producing a couple of goal-line clearances on one occasion.
On the other hand, Boulaye Dia had two glorious chances to kill off the match after coming off the bench, but fell short on both occasions.
Eventually, Atalanta’s onslaught paid dividends. Nicolo Zaniolo was the first to react to a loose ball on the edge of the post, somehow finding an unmarked Lookman from an awkward angle with an outrageous touch. Ivan Provedel rushed off his line to meet the Nigerian striker, but the latter laid in the path of the equally unmarked Marco Brescianini who tapped in the equalizer right after his introduction.
In the end, the two sides shared the spoils in what felt like a fair draw given how each team had the upper hand in one half.
Goals: 27′ Dele-Bashiru (L), 87′ Brescianini (A)
Lazio (4-3-3): Provedel; Marusic, Gila, Romagnoli, Tavares (62′ Pellegrini); Guendouzi, Rovella, Dele-Bashiru; Tchaouna (62′ Isaksen), Castellanos (83′ Castrovilli), Zaccagni (69′ Dia).
Atalanta (3-4-1-2): Carnesecchi; Djimsiti, Hien (45′ Kossounou), Kolasinac (83′ Brescianini); Bellanova, Ederson, De Roon, Zappacosta (45′ Cuadrado); Pasalic (56′ Samardzic); De Ketelaere (65′ Zaniolo), Lookman.
Referee: Massa from Imperia
Yellow cards: Hien (A), Zaccagni (L), Cuadrado (A), Rovella (L), Lookman (A)