Lazio netted two late goals against Atalanta to win the Coppa Italia for the seventh time at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday evening.
In what as a game that lacked quality from both sides, it took until the 82nd minute for the deadlock to be broken as Sergej Milinkovic-Savic came off the bench to head home from a corner. Lazio’s advantage was doubled in the 90th minute as Joaquin Correa finished off an excellent solo effort to secure glory for the Eagles on home soil.
Early chances for both sides
Alejandro Gomez had an effort for Atalanta within the opening minute but could only force Thomas Strakosha into a relatively comfortable save.
Former Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva then should have done better as he latched onto Senad Lulic’s excellent cross but he could only divert his effort off target as both sides created early chances.
Pinball in the Lazio box then almost saw Atalanta take the lead on a few occasions. Martin de Roon’s powerful effort was deflected onto the post before Duvan Zapata just failed to get a solid connection on the rebound. The ball came back to the Dutch midfielder but once again, the ball was deflected away with Zapata nodding just wide.
Scrappy affair at the Olimpico
The second-half continued pretty much where the first left off, with both sides battling and creating chances. Timothy Castagne had the first opportunity after the break and only a solid low stop from the Lazio goalkeeper prevented him from opening the scoring.
Gomez then arguably came the closest as he weaved in and out at the byline and cracked a shot towards goal from a tight angle that cannoned off of the angle of post and bar.
Super sub sees Lazio take the lead
Despite the chances created, it took until the final ten minutes for the scoreline to finally be altered. Lucas Leiva produced a teasing corner and found the head of Milinkovic-Savic, who had been introduced with time ticking down. The Serbian midfielder leapt highest and dispatched a stunning header into the far corner.
Joaquin Correa should have polished the game off as he was released in behind with a clever one-two. However, Pierluigi Gollini was out excellently to halt the Argentine’s low effort.
Correa does indeed finish Atalanta off
However, the speedy forward was not to be denied. Latching onto a clearance from his own team, the former Sevilla man raced away from the Atalanta defence and skipped inside. He continued to power into the penalty area, jumped around the goalkeeper and powered the ball into the empty net to seal a seventh Coppa Italia trophy for Simone Inzaghi’s troops.
Final Thoughts
The match itself was a competitive watch. Both sides created chances but neither were really able to find a clinical edge to win the game. That was until the second-half, where Lazio were arguably the better side.
Match Report
Atalanta: Gollini (7); Djimsiti (6), Palomino (6), Masiello (6); Castagne (7) (Gosens (N/A), 85′), de Roon (7) (Pasalic (N/A), 85′), Freuler (6), Hateboer (6); Gomez (7), Ilicic (6), Zapata (6) (Barrow (N/A), 84′).
Lazio: Strakosha (7); Bastos (6) (Radu (6), 36′), Acerbi (7), Felipe (7); Lulic (6), Alberto (6) (Milinkovic-Savic (7), 79′), Leiva (6), Parolo (7), Marusic (6); Correa (7), Immobile (5) (Caicedo (6), 66′).
Goals: Milinkovic-Savic (82′), Correa (90′)
Referee: Luca Banti
Yellow Cards: Bastos (24′), Masiello (37′), Lulic (39′), Leiva (57′), Gomez (79′), Marusic (87′)
Red Cards: N/A
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