A point would have been a good result for us. We were totally dominated by Juventus. At least it is over and we still retain our three point advantadge. It gets easier. We got two very winnable game next in Novara away and then Lecce at home. We got to win both of those and we will have a great chance. Udinese away will be a decisive match. Udinese have really tallied off since the start of the season so we have a fighting chance there. Hopefully the match with Internazionale at the end will be easier for us if Internazionale has nothing to play for. I do not think Internazionale will be contenders for third. They have a very tough six matches coming up including Milan. They also have got four away matches and only two at home. They got Udinese away next so one of the rivals will drop points. Roma are too inconsistent to make up the gap to us I think. They also got three tough matches coming up in Fiorentina, Juventus and Napoli. They are bound to drop points in those three and hopefully we put Novara and Lecce to the sword and Roma will be gone.
It looked like Juve was edging closer and closer to a goal and I was preparing myself for that game winner. It hurt me more than I thought it would since I was waiting for it. The joy of the Juve fans after they scored for our defeat crushed me. Just seeing someone celebrating a Lazio loss drives me insane, literally. In this case it was a packed stadium and it was such a cold feeling. Still like Taib mentioned, these two games are the ones I was focusing on and looking past Juve as I expected a loss after seeing what Reja threw out there. 6 Points would be such a reliever to our loss especially since our opponents have tough games coming. All I can think about is 6 points 6 points 6 points. It will be such a huge help and edge us closer to the end with more points in advantage. Also, Lazio Youth Product Mirko Fersini, 17, has past away after crashing his Vespa as reported a week ago. A part of our family has passed and Lazio will have to dedicate our win Fersini will watch upon on Sunday. RIP Laziale
Very frustrating, 2 games against bottom feeders and we come up with 1 point. You would expect at least 4 points. Give up a late equalizer vs Lecce and now lose @Novara. Matuzalem gave a way a silly free kick at the edge of the box whcih Mascara converted nicely. Luckliy Udinese are losing to Inter who might have a say in this 3rd spot in the end. Napoli up 1-0 on Lecce as well.
What the hell is happening at the end of this game? I'm stuck on mute. At least 1 red was given to Dias. I feel this sums up Lazio's chase for CL this season. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji-qGQxmJc4"]stumbling on the finish line - YouTube[/ame]
I saw some lazio players stop playing after a whistle was blown but apparently it was not the ref's whistle, then madness
Oh. Well that makes more sense then if there was a whistle from the stands or something. That last goal could have been valuable if it came down to Inter & Lazio. GD is the tie breaker after head 2 head right? Its going to be difficult for Lazio with all the injuries and now suspensions.
that's right, from what I've read elsewhere & as of now inter and udinese have a better H2H over lazio, lazio a better H2H over napoli, napoli better H2H over both inter and udinese lazio squad is depleted in addition both atalanta and siena are not roll over teams leading up to inter vs lazio a positive note is that udinese and inter don't have the easiest of matches, napoli maybe
Second year in a row we're in prime position for the CL and we stumble. Last season we lost to some quality teams. This year we're losing to he Novaras of the world. Udinese were in very poor form as were we, but we showed no attacking guile and played for the draw. We do lack players up front but our midfield is still strong. Scoring was always going to be a struggle and you take out Klose and Hernanes and we need something special like Mauri's goal vs Napoli. Inter and Napoli both coming on strong and you'd have to rate Inter atm. Not sure how the TB plays out but we just lost it to Udinese and we're down against Inter. After a month of everyone trying to give away this spot it looks like Inter and Napoli are beginning to take hold.
2-0 win on the road vs Atalanta. The boys fought hard and played a tricky opponent in Atalanta quite well. The defense had a very good game, Konko and Diakite both had very strong games. Diakite has been our best defender this year IMO, alot of that is because he was the most durable. Kozak finally made good, we really needed to step up the past couple of games and he didn't but yesterday he opened the scoring. Nice to see Klose back, I have no doubt we would have clinched 3rd place had he not been injured. Cana scored a nice goal, players like him have one of those goals in them per season it seems. He's been decent after a slow start. We need a win and a Udinese loss to make it to the CL. Inter are in fine form atm, but on our home ground and a somehwat healthy line up we can win. Catania need to step up, Udinese really aren't a special squad but DiNatale is carrying them and they seem to be catching teams at the right time. It's bad news for Serie A, Napoli and Inter would be more competitive than Udinese. If we don't get 3rd place we have no excuses. Sure the injuries hit us hard late in the year but there was still enough quality on the field to get a result. Dropping those points to Lecce and Novara is what's costing us. The defense held up for the most part and the midfield was deep enough to handle injuries IMO. Lotito and Tare's naievity with our forwards hurt. Cisse was poor and we cut our losses but there was no replacement for him. We had to make due with 35 yo Rocchi, Kozak and the inexperienced Alfaro for over a month.
Rob, you summed this season up in a nutshell. Its a shame Udinese keeps on getting the opportunity of champions league since they just sell their star players which ultimately hurts all of serie a. Udinese does not have the ambition to be a Champions League competitive team. Lazio mean well in the mercato's but some just dont pan out. (Garrido Cisse Cana were supposed to be solid). Im confident if Lazio were to make Champions League, we would see a few big signings. Napoli and Inter of course have the quality already to compete but the table never lies about a team's form and credibility. I seriously hope Udinese do not make Champions League, they will further hurt Serie a and Lazio need to step up to get us over to that next level. A shame, a tragic to lose again this way to Friulans.
While I do like some of their players like DiNatale and Fabrini, they're really hurting Serie A with their European performances. I can understand selling Alexis for that fee, but they should've added some players as well. I have a feeling Catania will get something from the match, I see a draw but perhaps Catania can pull it off, they do play well at home and Udinese are a traditionally poor away team. Btw it was nice to see Onazi get some time. He''s supposed to be talented and we haven't much contributions from our primavera in a long time.
If you remember the last week of last season Lazio was in the absolute very same situation. We needed a win and Udinese needed at least a tie from ACM to qualify for the qualifying rounds of champions league. I had the Lazio and Udinese game on at the same time and the Udinese game was the saddest game anyone could have watched. It was closer to a tennis match than a soccer game. Dont be surprised if you see another season clinching 0-0 draw with 2 shots on goal in the game. Im sure Montella wont mind seeing Lazio finishing short of an extraordinary milestone.
Yes I remember that match as well. Milan had to play 37 competitive matches in Seire A last season but they had clinched the Scudetto by Round 38. I forgot about the Montella factor, though Catania are playing at home and I do expect them to play with some fire at least I hope so. We have a difficult game of our own to play. Inter have looked strong since Stramaccioni took over. Btw the team that bounced us in the EL have just demolished everyone in their path to the EL title. Don't feel bad losing to quality side like Atletico. Outscored opponents 22-6 in the KO phase of the EL.
To add to my no confidence in Catania, Lodi is not available for the game who is arguably Catania's biggest threat with his playmaking.
We're actually a little healthier as of late. Klose and Lulic are back which is a big plus for us. Hernanes was deemed to be out, but supposedly there's a chance he'll play. Dias, Radu, Biava, Matuzalem, Brocchi and Rocchi I believe are all out.
Looks like the dream of Nesta returning to Lazio is over. While he's set to leave Milan, he also stated "I am no longer in good enough shape to cope with the rhythms of Serie A. I would like to keep playing and enjoy myself". He's rumored to move to NY Red Bulls. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1067206/alessandro-nesta-confirms-ac-milan-exit?cc=5901 Good for Sandro, he still has a will to play. I always thought he would retire prematurely because he wasn't perceievd as the most passionate of players. But he's still playing at the highest level and thwarting the likes of Messi. The greatest defender to ever play for Lazio and arguably the greatest Italian defender ever and he was reered through our system.
Probable from LaLazioSiamoNoi Bizzarri, Scaloni, Diakite, Biava, Konko, Ledesma, Cana, Candreva, Mauri, Lulic, Klose Subs: Berardi, Garrido, Zauri, Gonzalez, Onazi, Rozzi, Kozak Hernanes is not mentioned in their report of the probable formation so it seems Hernanes didn't recover as quick as they hoped. Nonetheless, Hernanes has been disappointing lately but possibly due to playing through an injury unknown to us. Reja is giving Cana his confidence in him. Cana was supposed to be a devil on the field, yet overall he has been a mess out there and doesn't really hold up the opponents play as Reja thought he would. There is no question Cana gives 100% every game, but he never seemed to play how Reja wants. Perhaps now from last game and in training he has shown his qualities that even Gonzalez who has played Reja's tactic to a tee is now not even a defensive midfielder after Lulic took his starting spot. Biava will grit his teeth and play through his discomfort against Inter. This is it, we are within reach of champions league qualification and if Lazio come out like they did against Napoli, Inter are in for another defeat since they clearly cannot play against motivated teams with a tactic. Next we have to rely on Montella to give Lazio a hand. Forza Lazio. Non Mollare Mai
good second half from lazio too bad udinese winning puts napoli, lazio and inter into the EL, pretty much the team no one wanted to see in CL
Very frustrating, but I must applaud the players to finish the season strong. They played a great 2nd half and yet another poor 2nd half from inter. Udinese finished with enough points and their success early in the season proved beneficial in the end. DiNatale kept them going the past few weeks. All three teams have excuses but no one is able to take control of the 3rd spot when it was dangling like carrott in front of everyone's nose since January. I knew Catania didn't have it after Gomez's terrible pk. Hopefully with 3 strong squads in the EL they can boost Italy's coefficient.
lazio and napoli had more of a chance throughout the season we were floating from 6-14th midway during the season and even into january I can't remember if 5th place have to go through qualifying rounds for the EL group stage, I know we do
True Inter had dug themselves such early hole they couldn't recover. We had many opportunities and when we brought our A game like today or vs Napoli we took care of business. But much like last season we dropped points to Novara, Lecce, and lost what proved to be the deciding match to Udinese. A player who I must say surprised me after some early struggles was Candreva. With no Hernanes, Klose or Lulic for the stretch run he picked up the slack in the attacking third and his tireless work rate have gained him the admiration of the Lazio supporters.