Inter v Lazio: Poor Lazio (In More Ways Than One)

By: Martha | December 5th, 2007

Suazooooooooo! Man alive. Inter were anything but good in the first half, but ended it up 2-0 just because they put some pressure on the Lazio goal, and the Roman side just couldn’t handle it — Lazio looked pretty dire tonight.

The home side always looked most threatening, but the game started slowly and both teams were sloppy, giving the ball away unnecessarily. Lazio had a couple of early chances that went just wide, but Julio Cesar wasn’t called into action in the Inter goal until late in the second half. At the other end, Inter eventually put together a couple of stuttering attacks, and every time they won a corner, Lazio were like deer in the headlights. It’s not as if Inter’s corners are so stellar, either, particularly with their third-choice taker playing the balls in, but Lazio’s defending was just awful. The first goal came when Nico Burdisso was dragged down as the corner was played in and Zlatan Ibrahimovic converted the penalty, and the second was off another corner, this time coming as everyone stood and watched Maicon run onto the cross and knock it into the net for his first goal of the season.

Coming out in the second half, Lazio didn’t look any better, and Inter finally settled down; the last 45 minutes were a stroll for the home side. Even with a midfield so thin that two players who had a total of one Serie A start between them before the match (20-year-old Portuguese Pelé and Luis Jimenez) were partnered in the midfield. The third goal came on the counter from David Suazo, who must have felt like he was at Cagliari again — he knocked a long, deep ball down with his head, controlled it, and slotted it past the keeper from a wide angle, just like he did dozens of times for his old club. At the other end, Lazio had very little to offer in attack, but Tommaso Rocchi woke Julio Cesar up with a screaming half-volley that the Brazilian just managed to steer past the post.

No matter who Delio Rossi put on the pitch, Lazio looked exhausted and troublingly lifeless. They’ve got two crucial matches in the next week — Catania home on Saturday, and at Real Madrid midweek — but at this point must just be hoping to make it to the break above the drop zone (they’re four points clear right now).

Also: Lazio still don’t have sponsors on their shirts — anyone know what’s up with that? Surely they’re not so rich they couldn’t use the cash.