08 April 2023
Juventus fell for a second time in succession at the Olimpico in Rome when they lost 2-1 to Lazio in Serie A Matchday 29.
Adrien Rabiot had equalised just before half-time after Sergej Milinković-Savić had broken the deadlock. Mattia Zaccagni restored Lazio's lead on 53 minutes.
The Match
No team had been as effective as Lazio in the opening quarter of an hour throughout the Serie A campaign and Maurizio Sarri’s side again started strongly, forcing Juve on the backfoot.
Twice in the space of a minute Sergej Milinković-Savić had the chance to open the scoring. First on 12 minutes, the towering Serb found himself unmarked at a corner, but his free-header sailed over the crossbar. A one-two with Luis Alberto then saw the midfielder dribble his way into the penalty area before Bremer made a crucial challenge.
It was Milinković that eventually did open the scoring. Wojciech Szczęsny - who had earlier made a full-stretch save to keep out a Ciro Immobile volley - could do nothing as the Lazio number 27 slammed the ball home from close range. Following consultation with VAR the referee confirmed the goal, adjudging that Alex Sandro had not been fouled by the eventual goalscorer in the build-up.
Juve’s response was swift and determined. The Bianconeri won a corner immediately after the restart, which was met by Bremer. The centreback’s powerful header was kept out by Ivan Provedel but Adrien Rabiot pounced inside the six-yard box to bundle the ball into the net.
Both sides continued to attack at the start of the second half, but it was Lazio that found the game’s third and final goal. Felipe Anderson played a pass into the penalty area. Some quick thinking by Luis Alberto freed Mattia Zaccagni, who curled his shot beyond Szczęsny.
Again Juve looked to respond. Federico Chiesa’s pace on the left, Ángel Di María’s skill on the right were the main attacking threats employed by the Bianconeri. While a Chiesa run and cross set up Nicolò Fagioli, whose volley finished just over the bar, Di María had a goal-bound effort blocked by Milinković-Savić.
In the five minutes of time added on Juventus continued to throw bodies forward but despite piling the pressure on the Lazio goal, there was to be no second equaliser on the night.
LAZIO 2-1 JUVENTUS (HT: 1-1)
Scorers: 39′ Milinkovic-Savic, 42′ Rabiot, 53’ Zaccagni
LAZIO: Provedel; Marusic, Casale, Romagnoli, Hysaj; Milinkovic-Savic, Cataldi (69′ Vecino), Luis Alberto; Felipe Anderson, Immobile (64′ Pedro), Zaccagni (84′ Basic). Subs not used: Maximiano, Adamonis, Lazzari, Patric, Gila, Radu, Pellegrini, Marcos Antonio, Romero, Cancellieri. Coach: Sarri.
JUVENTUS: Szczęsny; Gatti, Bremer, Alex Sandro; Cuadrado (69′ Danilo), Fagioli (86′ Miretti), Locatelli (63′ Paredes), Rabiot, Kostic (63′ Chiesa); Di Maria, Vlahovic (63′ Milik). Subs not used: Pinsoglio, Perin, Bonucci, Rugani, Soulé. Assistnat Coach: Landucci.
Referee: Di Bello
BOOKINGS: 45′ Alex Sandro, 45’+2′ Locatelli, 50′ Cuadrado, 85′ Milinkovic-Savic, 90’+5′ Miretti
