Serie A – Match Review: Lazio versus A.C Milan
Lazio and Milan took on each other in a thrilling Italian league match at the Stadio Olympico in Rome. Both the teams approached the match in aggressive fashion as, despite the fact that the fixture was a mid-week one, managers
from both the dug-outs started with their regular first team players.
Milan started with Ibrahimovic as the fulcrum of their attack; he was supported by Kevin Prince Boateng down the right hand side of the Rossoneri attack while the left hand side was occupied by the Brazilian playmaker, Ronaldinho.
In central midfield, Massimiliano Allegri went with the experience of Andrea Pirlo and Clarence Seedorf; their imaginative talents were complimented by the inclusion of Genaro Gattuso as the defensive wall in front of Milan’s back four.
In defence, Nesta and Thiago Silva started as centre backs while Zambrotta played as the right back whereas Abate played as the left back. In between the goal posts, Milan’s shot stopper Abbiati took up his usual berth.
For Lazio, Muslera started in goal while Dias, Biava, Radu and Cavanda made up the defensive four in front of him. In midfield, the Roman giants went with five men in the centre of the park as Ledesma, Brocchi, Mauri, Hernanes
and Floccari were tasked with dominating the possession of the ball. Up front, Lazio had only a single striker in the shape of Foggia. It was clear from the start that Lazio were setup to play on the counter attack and to utilize the pace and trickery of Hernanes
and Mauri along with Ledesma to crave open the aging Rossoneri defence.
Milan were the first team to get a real opportunity to open the scoring as in the 7th minute of the match, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was played in by Ronaldinho, the Swedish striker was unable to finish the chance that fell
before him as Muslera thwarted his shot away. Ibrahimovic was almost on target in the 15th minute of the match as the striker expertly met Zambrotta’s cross with his header, unfortunately the headed shot was well off the target.
Gattuso was the first man to be shown a yellow card on the night as in the 26th minute, the Italian national tackled Mauri from behind. In the 34th minute of the match, Lazio had their first clear opening
but Mauri was unable to beat Milan’s goalkeeper Abbiati. Milan had another chance of their own, right before the half time whistle but the chance went to waste as Seedorf decided to pass the ball rather than shoot after being played in by Ronaldinho. Despite
all the attacking play that took place in the first half, the score line at the half time break rested at nil all.
The second half was started off strongly by Milan, who controlled the ball as Pirlo was in fine form throughout the second period. The Italian playmaker along with Gattuso controlled the central midfield area as Ronaldinho and
Ibrahimovic linked up well upfront to give Milan tactical superiority in the opening minutes of the second half.
As the match progressed, the midfield area got congested as Milan’s three midfielders tried to compete against Lazio’s five playmakers, it was a difficult game for both the teams and as a result the quality of football from both
the sides suffered a bit. Lazio and Milan both gave away possession cheaply in the second half but neither of them were incisive enough to capitalize on each other’s mistakes.
It was A.C Milan who finally lit the game on fire with the first goal of the match as Ibrahimovic succeeded in beating the Lazio off-side trap. The on-loan striker latched onto Seedorf’s ball in the 66th minute of the
match. After battling off two Lazio defenders, Zlatan slid the ball into the back of the net to give his side the lead.
In the 81st minute of the match, Lazio drew level as Hernanes blitzed past Nesta down the left hand side of Milan’s penalty area. After reaching the by-line, Hernanes pulled the ball back for Floccari who pulled off
an expert finish to slot the ball into the top left hand corner of the net. Despite a large offensive surge by both the teams in search for a winner, the match ended with the score line at 1-1. It was a fine match by all standards but Lazio would see the draw
as one point gained rather than two dropped whereas Milan will be disappointed as they gave up their lead during the match.
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