Time to fire up this thread. Toughest match is the first one white hart lane vs Tottenham. Great test for our boys and a win here can send morale through the roof. Our group consists of Spurs, Panathinaikos and Maribor. Spurs is obviously the toughest contender, while Panathinaikos have struggled the past couple of seasons mainly due to financial struggles. They loaned or sold off many of their best players in the summer. Maribor are EL vets, it seems like they've been a reular in Europe for at least 5 years. We should progress along with Spurs.
Onazi is getting the start tonight. He was great for the primavera lets hope he can start off with a great performance here.
0-0 result Good result though it was an average performance. We were fortunate they ruled Dempsey's well taken diving header offside. The other disallowed goal was the proper call since there was a foul on Mauri but I've seen those not called many times as well. The speed of Lennon and Walker down the flanks gave us fits but we coped better with them in the 2nd half. Cavanda had a solid game and he held his own vs Bale, we know he'll be an adequate replacement for Konko if need be. Biava and Dias were sloppy but effective most of the time and the set piece defending was crucial since Spurs had loads of free kick opportunities around the 18. Ledesma, Mauri and Lulic were ok but nothing special. Lulic lacked support when he went forward. Onazi was invisible the first half but had a decent 2nd half in his first start. Our best player was Gonzalez who did well to hold possession in close quarters, he defended well and produced the best chance of the match striking the crossbar off a well struck volley. Hernanes was invisible though Spurs were paying close attention to him especially with his compatriot Sandro. Klose was lively at times but lacked service for most of the match as he, Lulic and Hernanes were mostly isolated. Still gaining a point from our most difficult match is a good result. We take care of Maribor and Pana at home we'll be ok. The squad must be confident that they kept another clean sheet, we've allowed 2 goals all season, a weak penalty vs Chievo and a late consolation goal to Mura.
1-0 win vs a game Maribor squad. I felt we were in 2nd gear most of the night and we really struggled to get a hold of the match until the goal. Floccari was excellent and he came up with a moment of class to take down a difficult ball over the shoulder, shield the defender and force the keeper into action and Ederson who was very good all night hustled to smash in the rebound. Hernanes also missed a penalty where the keeper deflected the shot onto the post. This was after Floccari was taken down or the defender handled the ball in the box. Ciani still worries me as a defender I don't think he's settled at all yet. Tottenham drew with Pana in Athens so we're atop the group and looking good. Two wins vs Pana should take us to the next round.
A wins a win but we could have put the game away beyond doubt. Maribor is coming off a hot season so far so to beat them comfortably is a good sign. Floccari looked lazy out there but did good when relied on when the ball was played to him. Ederson looking more and more comfortable out there every passing minute and scoring 2 goals but only 1 legitimate. Hopefully he continues to strive. Agreed about Ciani. He hasn't shown to be reliable yet.
no, it wasnt anybody's first game. Ciani started against Napoli* and Ederson started this past Sunday and also scored.
We need just enough to win but it was not a dominating performance. They did not offer much attacking threat. We got to play with more urgency. Ederson seems to be fitting in nicely.
If we can get a win October 25th against Panathiakos, we are more or less through to the next round. 7 Points is a lot for the first round should we end up winning. This will allow our non-regulars to stretch their legs in competitive matches. Also I am surprised about Tottenham. They were very fast and physical against us and we were suffering a lot against them. I would have thought Tottenham would pound Panathiakos.
7 would really depend on how maribor-spurs turns out good scenarios would be if you win 2 games,and either maribor or spurs win their next two games in a row forcing the loser of those games from advancing lazio 10 lazio 10 spurs 8 maribor 9 maribor 3 spurs 2
Tottenham dominated against Panathinaikos. They had lots of chances and Panathinaikos only scored from their only chance of the game. If we win both times against Panathinaikos we go through but no game is a given. If we are going to make any proper progress in the Europa League we have to finish top of the group otherwise we will face a very strong team in the next round.
1-1 FT vs Pana Sloppy game for both teams. Our goal came off a comical gaff by the Pana defnder who backpassed the ball into his own empty net. Mauri showed great hustle on the play but that was all on Seitaridis, we'll see that highlight all season. Pana drew level in the 90th after some sloppy play in our box by Gonzalez and Konko. The opportunity came after Cana inexplciably stumbled on a decent counter opprotunity gifting possession back to Pana. We were a little off and our passing wasn't crisp, the pitch didn't look to be in good shape, but Pana are poor and with the squad we had this should have been a win. Maribor and Tottenham drew so were still in good shape, but we could've knocked out Pana and been 3 points adrift of 2nd. Lazio 5 Maribor 4 Spurs 3 Pana 2
Gomzalez was not on when the goal was scored. Panathiakos impressed me a lot. We were the weaker side again in both of our ties. Just like the Napoli loss, just forget about the game and dont look back on it.
According to Football Italia, there were between Panathiakos fans and the police. Tear gas was released and even made its way onto the field and in the eyes of the players too! Also Football Italia was spot on when they said we were trying to win with minimal effort. Candreva was not the dominant force he was yesterday as serie a games. Hopefully the Italian teams can have a stronger outing in UEFA competitions next matchday.
Extremely easy win against Panathinaikos yesterday. 3-0 and playing mostly bench players. Good things from this match was that Kozak showed great awareness for both of his goals and Marchetti and Radu came back from inury. Good to have some confidence regained for the derby and a rest for the regulars.
It was a much easier game than how Panathiakos came at us last time in their stadium. Lazio had the game under control all game and 3-0 is a fair score for that game. It was nice to see the bench helping out the team and giving our starters the day off to have them in top condition for the derby. We stay atop of our group with the win and a tie against maribor can guarantee qualification, taking pressure off the Tottenham game.
0-0 FT vs Spurs. This result coupled with Pana's win over Maribor sees us through to the Round of 32 with a game to spare. I was a little worried having to go to Slovenia and needing a point, they played us tough in Rome last time around. As for the game I caught parts of the 2nd half and we created several great chances. Kozak squandered a couple and Ciani brought out a great save from Lloris off a corner. Spurs created very little from what I saw. It would be nice to claim first but we can play our B or C team vs Maribor in the final fixture. There isn't a big difference between 1st and 2nd place teams.
I would put lazio over spurs, lloris being the main reason why it stayed 0-0 cause lazio had some good chances while spurs were off and on with very little urgency
Got back from Italy today so obvoiusly lots to tell. First off the attack on those Tottenham fans is being investigated and as far as I know two Roma ultras were arrested. That is not suprising since they have a very violent fanbase along with Napoli and it is not the first time they have attacked English fans. Secondly yes there was a banner saying "FREE PALESTINE" and lots of Palestinian flags which in my opinion is to be expected. It was not suprising to be honest considering the right wing nature of many of the ultras and the fact they have always made it plain they do not like Jews. Anyway, Gazza was paraded round before the match and it was funny when he nearly started to cry again. He was welling up. He has a Lazio scarf around him. Of course Lotito was always right near him probably trying to take acclaim for it. It was absultely awesome the reception he got. As for the match I thought Tottenham started better and for probably the first half an hour they were sharper then us. They had a legitimate goal dissallowed and I still do not understand what Cavanda was thinking to be so far behind the line to play him onside. Cavanda handled Bale well but he kept playing some very risky sqaure passes. As the match wore on I thought Lazio were getting on top of things and Tottenham were going more and more backwards to their own goal. Lloris made some fantastic saves but in my opinion Kozak had a shocker. He missed four good oppotunites of which at least he should have taken two. Ciani who had the beating of Adebayor also had a very powerful header saved. In the second half I think Tottenham did not even have one attempt at goal. We were comepletely dominant. It is really dissapointing we drew because if we won we would have secured first place and make the next round significantly easier. Still I am certain we can go to Maribor with a good chance of getting a result that will see us through as winners of the group even a point would do.
Supporting the Palestinian cause has nothing to do with anti-semitism (nor fascism) whatsoever. Dumb chants do and Lazio must be punished accordingly...but let's not mix things up.
What a disappointment Kozak was. I mean his work rate on the field was 100% but as a striker you have to bury those chances. At this level, in these tournaments, you have to get the job done. Your on a world stage, so the club and the players are always spectated. I can imagine all the inquiries Lotito would have got for Kozak if he finishes 2-3 of his several opportunities. Its too bad for Lazio and him. Lazio would like to sell him and Kozak wants to play more, it would have been perfect. The game was a pleasure to watch. Tactically we were sharp and Tottenham did not have an easy time cracking our defense. Its too bad we didn't cap that off with a win. It was refreshing to see us dominating a game like that, especially after that display we put on against Rubentus. Mauri was motivated and our through balls were dead on. Even Kozak had a couple close offside calls on him where he would have been clear on goal. Its frustrating to have tied this game that we controlled but assuming that offside called on Bale and Tottenhams dominance at their home also ended 0-0, I can live with this result. Performances like these will take us a long way in Europa.
Oh please, you are not fooling anyone and do not try to treat me as a moron. I was there. You are right in the sense that it does not have anyting to do with it but that is being myopic in sense because it was aimed not to support the Palestinian cause but to taunt the Tottenham fans.
We beat Maribor 4-1 with an experimental line-up away from home. Most of the regulars were rested. This confirms us as group winners so hopefully gives us an easier draw for the next round. I thouight the game itself was a cakewalk as the scoreline suggests. Ederson played extremely well assissting two goals. Floccari was great as well, his second goal he dribbled from the halfway line and scored with a magnificent shot. The team is playing really well as of late after a mini slump and hopefully that can continue. Job done for the Europa League. We were unbeaten unlike all the other Italian teams in the competition and we had the strongest defence of any team in the competition. We finished top of the group most importantly so now we can fully concentrate on the League.