Serie A – Half time Review: Lazio versus A.C Milan
Lazio and A.C Milan played out a characteristically exciting first half of their fourth Serie A match.
Milan started the match with almost all of their new signings in the starting lineup; Ronaldinho started for the Rossoneri on the left side of midfield whereas Kevin Prince Boateng started on the right side for
Milan. However, the biggest star on the field for the Rossoneri was Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the striker who was secured on loan by
Milan from Barcelona in the summer transfer window.
Robinho started on the substitutes’ bench for the former Italian champions. The Brazilian forward was bought by
Milan in the summer transfer window from Manchester
City. Another Brazilian striker, Pato was also absent for
Milan but his absence was a result of an injury that he sustained in last week’s UEFA Champions League match against Auxerre.
Lazio also started with their stars Ledesma and
Foggia. The Roman club also gave Brocchi, an ex-Milanese midfielder, the chance to play against his former employers as they hoped that the Italian national will be spurred on by the chance to prove his worth to his former team mates.
Milan started the match off strongly as within the first five minutes of the half, Ronaldinho was picked out perfectly by the ex-Real
Madrid midfielder, Clarence Seedorf. Seedorf’s pass was inch perfect but Ronaldinho was quickly put under pressure by the Lazio defence and the mercurial playmaker was unable to get his shot off.
Ibrahimovic had Milan’s first open chance to get their first goal of the match. The move came through Kevin Prince Boateng, who skillfully shielded the ball and laid it off to Ronaldinho. The Brazilian
then found Ibrahimovic with a perfectly weighted chipped pass, but the Swede was not able to finish the move off as his shot was parried away by Muslera in the Lazio goal.
Milan continued their supremacy and almost found the back of the net in the 15th minute of the first half as once again, Ibrahimovic’s head was found by Zambrotta’s accurately timed cross.
Nonetheless, the former Barcelona striker was unable to guide his header in the right direction as the ball trickled out of play for a goal kick for Lazio.
Lazio slowly played their way back into the match through their standout player, Hernanes. The Romans almost carved out a good chance for themselves as Hernanes drew Nesta towards him inside the
Milan penalty area. The veteran defender used his experience to deal with the unpredictable winger as he ushered the ball out of play. In the 26th minute of the match, Gattuso became the first
Milan player to go into the referee’s book for his tackle from behind on Mauri.
Milan soon found themselves at the losing end of several challenges in the center of the park as their midfielders looked second best against a good Lazio midfield which had the right combination of attacking
flair and defensive discipline. The likes of Pirlo and Ronaldinho shied away from their defensive duties which gave Lazio a perfect platform to ease themselves back into the game by keeping control of possession.
In the 34th minute, Mauri had a fantastic chance to give his team the lead but the Lazio captain was wasteful with his chance which was saved by the A.C Milan goalkeeper, Abbiati. It was a lucky escape
for Milan who had been riding their luck through the latter stages of the first half by constantly losing possession in the midfield area.
In the 43rd minute, right at the death before the half time whistle was blown by the referee, Ronaldinho played in Seedorf inside the Lazio penalty box, the Dutch midfielder quite strangely
opted to pass rather than to go for the goal himself and this proved to be a mistake on his part as his lofted ball to Ibrahimovic went astray. At the end of the first half, both teams were deadlocked at nil all.
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