Lazio come from behind to secure valuable win against Empoli in Serie A
The visitors arrived in the capital as one of just two remaining unbeaten sides in the fledgling Serie A campaign. For that reason, this seemed to be a golden opportunity to beat Lazio on their own turf for the first time ever, and that accolade became all the more likely just nine minutes in.
Gustav Isaksen attempted to bring the ball away under pressure but lost possession, allowing Giuseppe Pezzella to charge down the left flank and cross in for Esposito to head past Ivan Provedel, who had slipped while anticipating the cross.
With Lazio netting a trio in each of their three straight wins preceding this clash, there was always a feeling that the Biancocelesti could bounce back and go a ninth Serie A home game unbeaten.
And the hosts’ desire to claw their way back immediately showed, as Boulaye Dia and Isaksen side-footed efforts wide, in between which a brace of shots from Taty Castellanos were kept out by Devis Vasquez.
However, Empoli’s resistance would finally crumble with the first half’s final kick, when Nuno Tavares broke down the left and crossed into the box for Mattia Zaccagni to loop a header into the far corner of the net.
At the time, that strike was the third head-to-head goal in Lazio’s last four to see some involvement from Zaccagni. That might have given him some justification to try his luck from the spot six minutes after half-time when Alberto Grassi brought down Dia inside the box.
Facing his very first Serie A spot kick, Castellanos stepped up but gambled poorly on a simple effort straight down the middle, which was deflected into the air by Vasquez and then headed wide by the rueful penalty taker under pressure.
There was more tension in store as the three-quarter mark approached, with an apparent foul from Saba Goglichidze on Castellanos as a free-kick came into the area. Despite Lazio’s fervent protests, no spot-kick was forthcoming.
Nonetheless, the pressure from Lazio was almost unrelenting going into the final 10 minutes of normal time, on the cusp of which Emmanuel Gyasi – a loser in all eight of his previous meetings against Lazio – was booked for a fifth time in a battle against the Biancocelesti.
In the end, the pressure simply became too much, and Lazio completed the turnaround in the 84th minute when a passage through the middle of the park saw Castellanos lay the ball off for Pedro in the right corner of the penalty box.
He took the brave option and it paid off, with the ball rocketing into the net off the bar to seal all three points.
The result sends Lazio back into the top four, after what was the seventh straight head-to-head to see the Roman side net at least twice.
Meanwhile, Empoli saw history repeat itself 22 years after following up an identical 10-point tally from six with defeat to Lazio. They will end the weekend only just in the top half.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mattia Zaccagni (SS Lazio)
