Lazio beat Verona 2-1 at the Olimpico thanks to goals from Dia and Castellanos. In the late game that closes the fourth day of Serie A, Marco Baroni – who had lost all three previous league matches against the Gialloblù before today – climbs to 7 points in the standings, one more than his former team. The only positive note of Verona’s Roman evening was the reaction after the Biancocelesti’s lead goal in the 5th minute. Zaccagni rewards Dia’s central insertion, who moves the ball to his right and shoots, beating Montipò on his post.
After two minutes the guests equalized: a first touch by Kastanos sent the central duo of Biancocelesti into a tailspin, setting up Tengstedt who, one-on-one with Provedel, didn’t miss. However, in the 20th minute Lazio regained the lead. Zaccagni crossed from a corner in the six-yard box, Castellanos broke free from Coppola’s marking and dropped the ball into the net. In the second half, in the 62nd minute, the best Montipò was served to deny the hosts a 3-1. The goalkeeper first parried Dia’s shot, then reacted quickly in closing the goal to Tavares on the rebound.
Three minutes later Baroni has to make a double substitution: Castellanos (adductor discomfort) and Isaksen are out, Castrovilli and Tchaouna are in. The young Frenchman enters the game well and tries to shoot several times: the first shot ends up just high, the second is neutralized by Montipò in a corner. In the 83rd minute the Biancoceleste team is inches away from scoring: Dia leads the transition and serves the ball for 3-1 to Zaccagni who in front of Montipò touches with his toe without managing to find the goal. Lazio doesn’t close it out, but reduces the risks to a minimum and takes home the result: in the next round Baroni’s men will visit Fiorentina, while Verona will have to deal with Torino at home.