A goal from the usual Pedro allows the Biancocelesti to achieve success in full injury time
LAZIO 2
PORTO 1
LAZIO (4-2-3-1): Mandas 6; Marusic 6, Gigot 5.5 (22′ st Gila 6), Romagnoli 7, Nuno Tavares 7 (43′ st Pellegrini sv); Guendouzi 6, Neighbor 6.5; Tchaouna 6 (22nd Rovella 6), Peter 7, Zaccagni 6 (26th Isaksen 6.5); Castellanos 6.5 (22′ st Day 6).
On the bench: Provedel, Furlanetto, Lazzari, Dele-Bashiru.
Coach: Marco Baroni 6.5.
PORTO (4-2-3-1): Diogo Costa 5; Fernandes 6 (16’st Joao Mario 6), Perez 6, Djalò 6.5, Moura 6; Varela 5.5 (16’st Nico Gonzalez 6), Eustaquio 7; Fabio Vieira 7 (39′ st Franco sv), Namaso 5.5 (16′ st Pepe 6), Galeno 6.5; Omorodion 6 (32 ‘st Gul sv).
In panchina: Claudio Ramos, Otavio, Vasco Sousa, Fran Navarro, Goncalo Borges, Rodrigo Mora, Ze Pedro.
Coach: Vitor Bruno 6.
ARBITRO: Kabakov (Bulgaria) 6.
RETI: 50′ pt Romagnoli, 21′ st Eustatius, 47′ st Peter.
NOTES: clear evening, soil in good condition. Booked: Gigot, Namaso, Zaccagni, Omorodion, Perez, Djalò, Guendouzi, Pepe. Corners: 6-5. Recovery time: 4′ time, 5′ time.
ROMA – Lazio also beats Porto and in blissful solitude looks down on everyone in the Europa League. At the Olimpico it ended 2-1 thanks to goals from Romagnoli (45+5′) and the usual Pedro (92′) which allowed the Biancocelesti to maintain full points (12 points), with 11 goals scored and 2 conceded.
Yet another show of strength for Marco Baroni’s men who inflicted a defeat on a team that had never lost at the Biancoceleste Olympics (two draws in two matches) and which this season had not been knocked out since last September 25th.
Porto, however, does not disappoint. Indeed, before Lazio took the lead, Vitor Bruno’s boys came close to scoring with the clearest opportunity of the first half.
In the 33rd minute Omorodion (4 goals so far in Europe) leads the counterattack and serves Fabio Vieira who, in the area, moves the ball to the left foot and with a curling conclusion hits both the woodwork and the crossbar at the top corner.
Lazio (who had a goal disallowed for offside by Castellanos) broke the deadlock in the last minute of injury time. On the development of a corner from the left, Castellanos acts as a tower for Romagnoli who takes advantage of Diogo Costa’s uncertain exit to head the ball into the net.
Triple substitution for Porto in the 61st minute: Fernandes, Namaso and Varela out; inside Joao Mario, Pepe and Nico Gonzalez.
In the 66th minute the guests equalized: Fabio Vieira verticalized for Galeno who broke through on the left and unloaded for Eustaquio who opened the ball in the center of the area and beat Mandas with a low shot. Baroni immediately runs for cover: Tchaouna, Castellanos and Gigot out; inside Rovella, Gila and Dia.
The 37-year-old Pedro remained on the pitch until the end and it was he who scored the winning goal: the Spaniard controlled a ball from Isaksen’s cross and made no mistakes from two steps away.
Lazio will return to the Europa League field on Thursday 28 November to challenge Ludogorets at the Olimpico. He will do it as the leader and with an increasingly decisive Pedro.
