At the end of Lazio-Porto, the report cards of our director, Guido De Angelis, arrive as usual.
SENDS 6 – For the third time in a row he wins the run-off with Provedel in Europe. He is never seriously challenged, he makes us suffer throughout the match for managing the ball with his feet. But we are from Lazio. Not guilty on the goal.
MARUSIC 6 – He relieves Lazzari on the right chain. He plays a disciplined match with great attention to tackles and aerial duels. The performance is tainted by the error on Porto’s goal. Pedro saves him first with a monstrous recovery and then with the final goal that explodes the Olimpico.
GIGOT 6 – Absolute debut at the Olimpico against the revelation striker Samu Omorodion. Always punctual in his advances, he constantly slips and always catches the ball, but he risks a lot on every ball, because the yellow at the start of the match is very heavy for a footballer who makes explosiveness and competitive ferocity his best characteristic. Sufficient and imperious in aerial duels. If he can discipline himself a little, he could be an asset.
GILA 7 – He enters the field in place of Gigot more to avoid the red card for the Frenchman than to change the match. Instead, his dynamism and ferocity in turning the action from defensive to offensive were decisive. Porto never came close to our area again. Well done, Mario!
ROMAGNOLI 7 – The least brilliant of our centre-backs this season, but Patric’s withdrawal and the need to give Gila a breather make him a starter on European Thursday too. He held his own in the defensive phase and broke the deadlock in the first half with his head, beating Diogo Costa. In the first half he isn’t always well positioned, but Lazio’s play always puts the central defenders at risk and he did very well.
NUNO TAVARES 6.5 – He makes his debut in Europe with our shirt, with the poisoned tooth of a good former Benfica player. Applied in the defensive phase, he thinks more about dueling by making use of his overflowing physique than about offending with the proverbial incisiveness. He overlaps less than usual, in the second half he doesn’t have any more and gets the (deserved) standing ovation from the Olimpico.
PELLEGRINI 6+ – It wouldn’t be judgeable but when to avoid a counterattack he lies down on the ground reaching the ball at 200 kilometers per hour in an attempt to anticipate Porto’s rival, it causes thunderous applause. Involved, and it shows.
GUENDOUZI 6,5 – He never rests, Rovella shouldn’t be risked and so the Frenchman is still on the field from the start. He’s literally everywhere, rooting out balls and starting the action. He lowers himself between the two central defenders and comes to take the ball from Mandas, then a few seconds later you find him on the left, or maybe on the right? You can’t ask him to have elegance in the last step, but he fights like a lion and thrives in these races.
NEIGHBOR 6.5 – Our man of experience for the most fascinating evening of the start of the season. Taty needed the assist for the goal that was immediately disallowed for offside. Then he plays a lot of wood in the middle of the field and always positions himself well between the lines. Like every match since he wore our shirt, he has a gigantic opportunity on the usual perfect insertion, but with his head he sends the ball over the crossbar. Football intelligence, always.
TCHAOUNA 6 – Cup holder, he spends more than usual even in the defensive phase and should be rewarded. The usual two or three balls played horizontally which, being bloody, risk allowing us to score goals, but also a lot of determination in the reconquest. Castellanos served it deep at the start of the match in the only real effort of an attentive match. He comes out in the second half.
ROVELLA 7 – By Baroni’s own admission, when the blonde enters the game changes. He stamps anyone who happens to be in his area, and if he doesn’t, he goes looking for him. Very mobile, he dirty a thousand trajectories and returns the lost dribble to a Lazio in difficulty. He came in like a lion.
PEDRO 9 – In the unprecedented position of attacking midfielder, he takes the place of Dia. Paradoxically, I don’t care about the decisive goal at all: right now he has the gold on him and he would score even playing alone against an entire team. The reason for the vote – among the highest ever given – is the attitude he shows on the pitch from the first minute to the 94th minute. Protagonist of an endless series of backward runs, after the hour mark he makes two defensive retreats, closing dangerous Portuguese offensives in the corner with the desire of a twenty-year-old. He always manages the ball well, he has become the driving force of a group of which he is now the absolute idol. Raffaella Carrà – a kiss to the sky – will be happy for her pupil.
ZACCAGNI 6.5 – The captain returns from 1st after three games to challenge Porto at the Olimpico, something he was unable to do due to a mocking disqualification during Sarri’s time. Author of a lightning recovery, he can’t be at his best but he spends himself for his teammates and earns the usual three hundred fouls, helping the team rise in moments of difficulty. The left-wing chain is not working at its best today, but its sacrifice is to be appreciated. He often returns to the right but is unable to put clean balls in the centre. When Porto gained confidence after the 1-1 draw, the number 10 extinguished the Dragons’ enthusiasm by winning two very precious free kicks. He comes out midway through the second half for Isaksen.
ISAKSEN 6 – He would be the protagonist of the usual soft part of the match, with little strength in his legs, little malice in front of goal. Then, at the last minute, because he doesn’t know how to read or write, he comes back on the left foot and delivers the winning ball into the middle. The entrances of our two blondes gave us a lot. Come on, boy, come on!
CASTELLANOS 7 – Baroni doesn’t give up tonight either, the Argentine is tireless and excited by his second call up with the Argentine national team. He runs like a madman, varying on the offensive front and managing the ball excellently. Annoying to mark, Perez and Djalo contain him well, but not with their heads: in aerial duels he is formidable and with his head he assists Romagnoli for the opening goal. In the second half Baroni understood that if he continued to run he would risk falling to the ground, and out of pity he introduced Dia as first striker. Another great performance.
STEP 6 – Discreet impact on the match, Porto’s centre-backs are very difficult and rough and they don’t get many playable balls. He enters in the most difficult moment of the match but doesn’t disappoint. We will see him again as a starter in Monza, for the last effort before leaving with his Senegal.
BARONS 8 – 8 more changes compared to the championship, the trend of massive turnover continues despite the prohibitive opponent. He’s right again tonight: another last-gasp victory, another superb performance, made even more important by the level of his rivals. 12 points out of 12 in the Europa League. More would not be possible.
