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Lineups:
Lazio: Bizzarri, Scaloni, Diakite, Biava, Konko, Cana, Ledesma, Candreva (92’ Zampa), Mauri (93’ Garrido), Lulic (83’ Gonzalez), Kozak.
Inter: Castelazzi, Maicon, Lucio, Samuel, Nagatomo, Zanetti, Cambiasso, Poli (76’ Longo), Alvarez (61’ Pazzini), Guarin, Milito.
Season ended on a high as Lazio fought back a 1-0 loss in half time to a 3-1 win after 90 minutes. Goals from Kozak, Candreva and Mauri closed the season for the Biancocelesti, who after a win for Udinese against Catania will see themselves in the lesser prestigious international competition after the summer.
It was one of those magic nights again, where the crowd was anticipating a thriller and hence the stadium was fuller than normal. Neither of the teams was hungry enough in the first part of the game, and despite Lazio controlling the ball there were very few attempts created. Fact is, the home team did not have one single shot on goal in the first 30 minutes, while Inter managed one dangerous attempt, but Bizzarri could easily touch the ball to a corner.
Just before the kick-off Reja had been hit by another injury problem, as returning striker Klose had to be replaced by Kozak due to a foot injury. The Czech has been hearing plenty of criticism, and the chance of finishing this season in front of the Curva must have been an inspiring occasion. Else, Lulic started his second consecutive match, as did Cana who was fielded next to Ledesma, and Candreva who accompanied Mauri and the Bosnian just behind Kozak. At the back Scaloni might have played his last game in the Lazio shirt, while Diakite, Biava and Konko were the remaining three at the back. The formation was slightly more balanced than in many recent games, and eventually this would pay off.
However, the first half ended in a shocking penalty goal scored by Milito. In one of few attempts to threaten the Lazio box Maicon was brought down after a clumsy tackle by Ledesma, in what the Argentinean expected was outside the penalty area. Referee Damato pointed at the spot kick, and Inter’s notorious striker could slot home the leading goal.
Lazio came out as a new team in the second half, with Reja directing the players to attack through Candreva and Lulic – two of the best players on the pitch – and with the rest of the team offering good support. Lazio created more in the opening stages of the second 45 than before half time, and after Castelazzi had knocked a Candreva attempt to corner Lazio got their equaliser. Ledesma sent a perfect cross at 59 minutes, and Kozak met it with great precision.
2-1 came only four minutes later, when Lulic showed why he has been missed as he advanced against Maicon and Poli inside the penalty area and perfectly set up Candreva, who made no mistake from close range. The Romans had taken over the story entirely, but just as many times before the lead meant a steady fall-back and defensive approach to the rest of the game.
With one eye on what was going on in Catania, where Udinese needed to lose for either of the teams playing their parts in Rome to be able to grab the sought for third spot, it was hard to fully focus on the game in the capital. Udinese eventually won the game 2-0, where a very passive Carrizo could see Di Natale get the first and where Catania suspiciously missed a penalty by putting in wide off the post. Fabbrini ended with a second, guaranteeing his team third place.
It was Lazio who wanted the win at Olimpico more than the visitors this evening. Pazzini did hit the post with ten minutes remaining, but other than that Lazio handled the pressure put on by Inter quite well. In injury time then Mauri got to round off the season with an easy 3-1, after a well planned attack through Candreva and Kozak.
Lazio will now have to await the Coppa Italia final to get to know if there will be any qualification rounds for the team ahead of the Europa League group stage or not. With a Juventus win the team would be drawn straight into a group, while a Napoli win would force one qualifying round on the club.
(Khashayar Kashefi)
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Match Summary
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icon
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description
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 | Goals |  | Penalty Goals |  | Penalty Missed |  | Yellow Cards |  | Red Cards |  | Yellow-Red Card |  | Substitutions |  | Corners |  | Offside |  | Shots |  | Shots On Target |  | Injury |  | Assist |  | Own Goal |
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Player's Ratings
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Lazio players
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Rating
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| 1 Albano Bizzarri | 6.7 | | 5 Lionel Scaloni | 6 | | 21 Mobido Diakite | 6.3 | | 20 Giuseppe Biava | 6.2 | | 29 Abdoulaye Konko | 6.3 | | 27 Lorik Cana | 6.2 | | 24 Cristian Ledesma | 6.3 | | 87 Antonio Candreva | 7.2 | | 6 Stefano Mauri | 5.8 | | 19 Senad Lulić | 6.7 | | 18 Libor Kozák | 6.8 | | 15 Álvaro González | 5.7 |
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Internazionale players
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Rating
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| - | - | | - | - | | - | - | | - | - | | - | - | | - | - | | - | - | | - | - | | - | - | | - | - | | - | - | | - | - |
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Match Incidents
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Time
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Match Incident
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| 45'' | Internazionale | | 58'' | Libor Kozák | | 63'' | Antonio Candreva | | 90'' | Stefano Mauri |
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Comments
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| | | | Lazio team news | | Petkovic tried 4-1-4-1 today but there are doubts over Gonzalez. |  |
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| | | | Lazio in ritiro | | Lotito has sent the squad to a ritiro in Norcia. Meanwhile Lucas Biglia draws nearer. | |
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| | | | Onazi injured, Hernanes in doubt | | Bad news for Lazio as both Onazi and Hernanes are doubts for Sunday's trip to Cagliari. | |
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| | | | Petkovic: "We want to get to Europe regardless of the Coppa Italia" | | Lazio boss Vladimir Petkovic claims he wants his side qualified for the Europa League before they play in the Italian Cup final. | |
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| | | | Tare: "Profound respect for Brocchi" | | Lazio director of sport Igli Tare has paid tribute to Cristian Brocchi who announced his retirement today. | |
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| | | | Cristian Brocchi retires | | Lazio midfielder Cristian Brocchi has decided to retire from professional football at the age of 37. | |
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