There was a time when the clash of AC Milan and Lazio was considered a huge event in the world of football, but that time is gone now. Both of these clubs are desperately trying to get back to the old paths of glory, but the paths don’t seem to be there anymore. They are currently being trodden by Juventus alone, with usually Napoli closest behind; yet not close enough.
Lazio traveled to Milan on Sunday evening sitting in sixth place with 18 points to their name, a decent position given the struggles they’ve been going through in recent years. On the other hand, the Rossoneri haven’t yet discovered the right formula for the campaign, and 13 points from the previous 10 rounds, enough to put them in 10th place only, was the best they could do.
Team News
Stefano Pioli, the second manager Milan have had this season, finally had the services of Mattia Caldara who has recovered from a cruciate ligament injury, but was only fit for the bench. Midfielder Suso suffered some kind of a problem in training on Saturday and missed out.
Gialnuigi Donnarumma was in goal. Leo Duarte and Alessio Romagnoli formed the centre-back partnership, with Davide Calabria and Theo Hernandez covering the defensive flanks. Ismael Bennacer anchored the midfield, with Lucas Paqueta and Rade Krunic by his side. Krzysztof Piatek led the line upfront, supported from the wide positions by Hakan Calhanoglu and Samu Castillejo.
Simone Inzaghi in the away dugout couldn’t count on goalkeeper Silvio Proto and forward Ricardo Kishna.
Thomas Strakosha stood between the posts, with the trio of Francesco Acerbi, Bastos and Stefan Radu in front of him. Lucas Leiva was the central figure in midfield, with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Luis Alberto closest. Manuel Lazzari (right) and Senad Lulic (left) were the two wing-backs. Joaquin Correa paired up with Ciro Immobile in attack.
The First Half
Both teams tried to open the game on the front foot, but it was Milan with the first chance in the fourth minute as Calhanoglu swung in a cross into six yards and Milinkovic-Savic cleared. Lazio retaliated almost immediately as Immobile broke into the box and took a low shot, prompting a fine save from Donnarumma. Piatek was in a similar situation in the seventh minute at the other end but he failed to hit the target.
It was a lively opening to a game that could have gone either way, but it seemed that the home side was putting more effort and focus into it. The players in red-and-black were chasing and pressing all over the pitch, which often resulted in winning the ball in the opposition half. But breaking Lazio’s lines was not an easy task. An occasional pass found its way in behind, but it was usually unusable.
In the 15th minute, however, Bastos committed a foul on Piatek some 25 yards out in a position great for a left-footed player. Nonetheless, Calhanoglu hit the free-kick with his right and missed the far post by a yard.
Still Milan pressed well kept the play mostly in the opposition half, with Rade Krunic looking particularly lively. Lazio had a rare attacking moment in the 18th minute but it ended with defender Bastos getting forward and shooting wildly from 30 yards.
As the game reached the end if the first quarter, it suddenly sprang alive with chances. Milan had a great one as Paqueta broke into the box on the right but his shot was too tame to give Strakosha any problems. Lazio then went forward quickly and worked a nice move to set Immobile up, but the striker hit the crossbar from a tight angle. Then it was Castillejo at the other end who fired one low from range, but Strakosha made another fine save.
And in the 25th minute, the deadlock was finally broken. Lazzari escaped down the right for Lazio and sent a pin-point cross towards Immobile, whose header was simply too good for Donnarumma to stand a chance.
0-1.
But the visitors’ lead didn’t last long. Just three minutes later, Hernandez lifted a pass over Lazio’s back line for Piatek to latch onto and the striker toe-poked it goalwards. It grazed the chest of Bastos and flew into the near bottom corner, where Strakosha couldn’t reach it.
1-1.
Having nullified Lazio’s advantage, Milan attacked again and the game was developing much in the same way as before the two goals, though in the 35th minute Castillejo was forced to leave the pitch through injury. Ante Rebic came on instead.
The Croatian winger almost scored with his first touch as Bennacer found his forehead with an accurate cross from the left, but the ball went just wide.
Apart from Krunic, Calhanoglu was also giving Lazio a lot to think about, and in the 40th minute the Turk swung a corner straight on goal, almost catching Strakosha by surprise, but the Albanian goalkeeper dove down in time to pull it out off the very line.
Towards the end of the half, Milan’s drive seemed to be wavering a little and the visitors gradually took control. On the stroke of 45 minutes they created a good chance for Correa, but Donnarumma produced another save.
The Second Half
The game continued after the break in a lively fashion, with the ball moving and the possession changing quickly, but there were no real chances until the 55th minute, when Rafael Leao, who had replaced Paqueta for Milan two minutes before, suddenly found himself in a great position in the box. However, his hesitation allowed Lazio players to stop him.
The battle in the middle of the park was very fierce at this point and referee Gianpaolo Calvarese allowed a lot of contact, obviously unwilling to stop the play too often. On the hour-mark, Piatek ruined some good work from Leao and then Inzaghi pulled double change. Immobile and Milinkovic-Savic made way for Felipe Caicedo and Marco Parolo.
In the 65th minute, Radu earned a yellow card by taking out Calhanoglu in a rather sinister way. Calhanoglu took the free-kick from a long way out himself and sent a cannonball on target, forcing Strakosha to box it out.
With Immobile out of the game, Lazio seemed to have lost some of their attacking potency. Caicedo is physically very strong, but not nearly as quick and clever as the man who has now scored 13 goals in 11 Serie A games. Correa was not nearly enough involved, and when he was, Milan defenders mostly dealt with him without difficulty.
The pace of the game slackened gradually , and neither team looked like creating a chance. Not for lack of trying, but rather a lack of ideas. There were a lot of mistakes in passing and a lot of fouls as the referee finally tightened things up and started flashing the yellow card more frequently.
With 15 minutes to go, Lazio worked up a decent move down the right with Lazzari setting up Alberto, but the Spaniard was in an angle far too tight to have a chance of scoring. A corner followed after which Donnarumma came and missed the ball. Acerbi picked it up and took a shot, but the young goalkeeper recovered his position in the last moment and tipped it over the bar.
In the 82nd minute, misfortune struck Lazio as substitute Caicedo had to come off injured. With no attacking players left on the bench, midfielder Danilo Cataldi came on. Not that Inzaghi’s team needed another attacking player at that moment, because Alberto moved a line up.
Correa wasn’t having a great game, but with seven minutes to go, he latched onto a great pass from Alberto, broke into the box and fired into the net.
1-2.
Just as it looked the game would end without a winner, the visitors snatched another goal and this time they weren’t going to waste it. Milan were now in a hurry, moving forward as quickly as they could, but Lazio defended with determination.
The Afterthought
Stefano Pioli and his men will be disappointed with this defeat. They worked hard to get something from the game, but lacked proper creative spark. Lazio seemed cleverer, more patient, and they took their chance.
Inzaghi will now turn his thoughts towards the visit of Celtic in the Europa League on Thursday, but even though it’s a must-win game if they’re even to hope of going to the knockout stages of the competition, it feels they will keep the Serie A as their priority this season. They’ve now climbed above Atalanta on goal-difference and are in fourth place.
Match Report
AC MILAN: Donnarumma 7, Duarte 6.5, Romagnoli 7, Calabria 6, Hernandez 7.5, Bennacer 7, Krunic 7 (86′ Bonaventura N/A), Paqueta 6.5 (53′ Leao 6.5), Castillejo 6 (35′ Rebic 6), Calhanoglu 7.5, Piatek 6.
LAZIO: Strakosha 7, Acerbi 7, Radu 7, Bastos 6.5, Lucas 7.5, Alberto 7.5, Milinkovic-Savic 6.5 (60′ Parolo 6), Lulic 6.5, Lazzari 7.5, Correa 6, Immobile 7.5 (60′ Caicedo N/A, 82′ Cataldi N/A).
GOALS: Immobile 25′, Bastos (OG) 28′, Correa 83′.
YELLOW CARDS: Milinkovic-Savic 43′, Duarte 51′, Krunic 55, Parolo 63′, Radu 64′, Lucas 70′, Bennacer 87′, Cataldi 88′.
REFEREE: Gianpaolo Calvarese.
DATE & VENUE: November 3, 2019, San Siro, Milan.
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