Lazio: One half against Fiorentina is not enough, but the ending is unfortunate

Analysis of the defeat of the Capitoline team at the Olimpico: a great opportunity was lost in the home match against Viola

di FILIPPO MONETTI
28 gennaio 2025
Adam Marusic festeggia il gol contro la Fiorentina

Adam Marusic festeggia il gol contro la Fiorentina

Rome, January 27, 2025 – A good run of form is not enough to protect you from these direct clashes. No matter how positive your moment is, playing for only one half during these challenges can expose you to unexpected events, only to then fall with negative results. The Lazio had a great opportunity in the home match against Fiorentina, making further selection in the standings and making their fourth place even more secure. Just like in the first leg, however, the Capitoline team fell against the team of Palladino, defeated 1-2, after having played a terrible first half, only to then react, until they came within a few millimetres of equalising in the last minute of the match. The goals in the first half of Judicial e Beltran direct the race and with Gudmundsson the Tuscans come within a few steps of the hat trick that would have closed the match. Marusic scores the goal that reopens the match and only a super save from De Gea takes away his brace for the equaliser, just as the post blocks the conclusion on the siren of Pedro in the 98nd minute.

Baroni's lineup choices are not surprising, the only variation on the theme of the classic white and blue team is the choice of Dele Bashiru alongside Guendouzi, instead of rovella. In the dribbling phase, the Nigerian essentially acts as a left winger, in an attempt to take away a marker with his insertions and leaving the Weather in Zaccagni more space near Castilians. The Lazio but suffers a lot from high blood pressure Fiorentina and it is from this situation that the first goal of the Viola was born. The recovery high on Marusic opens up to the attack on the left wing from which the assist comes for Judicial. Six minutes later, however, it is a throw for Folorunsho to catch the Capitoline rearguard out, with the subsequent insertion of Dodo to outnumber Pellegrini, before the cross and the winning header of Beltran.

The first half as a whole gives a Lazio inconclusive, whose shots are all rejected by the opposing defense. To add unpredictability to the attack, while avoiding unbalancing, Baroni choose Pedro e rovella for the second half instead of Isaac e Dele Bashiru. The choice pays off: the Biancocelesti gain quality in dribbling, also taking advantage of the lower centre of gravity of the guests and in the second half they manage the ball for almost 80% of the time. The number of Lazio attempts is wasted, but they fail to break through the Tuscan wall before recovery, when Marusic scores the goal that shortens the gap. The final part is then a frenetic and crazy sequence of desperate attempts to equalise, which unfortunately for the Lazio he was not assisted by luck, seeing the match end 1-2.

Due to the double disadvantage, the numbers of the race are all unbalanced in favor of the Lazio, thus telling of all the efforts made by the boys of Baroni to recover the initial disadvantage. The Capitoline team dominates the challenge for ball possession, dribbling for 70% of the total time, completing 509 passes, with an accuracy of 89%. On the other side, the Tuscans stop at 192 completed passes, completing 78% of the phrases, in the remaining 30% of the match. 

In the goal area, the Capitoline team attempts three times as many shots as their opponents: 22 to 7 is the total number of conclusions. It is strange, however, that the number of shots on target is equal, counting 3 shots per side, between shots off (11) and shots blocked (8) by the Biancocelesti. A real shame, because with a little more precision, the Biancocelesti could have snatched a positive result, given how the expected goals count rewards the Lazio. The boys of Baroni in fact they combine for 2,01 xG, while those of Palladino they stop at 1,20 xG.

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