Match Summary

It ended in the cruelest of ways for Lazio – put out of the Coppa Italia in a tense penalty kick shootout despite generally outplaying Milan in the second leg of the semi final match and conceding few genuine opportunities. That the winning pk was slotted home by Alessio Romagnoli only added a certain nuance to the the bitterness. The Milan defender has made no secret of his enduring football faith. He has candidly and repeatedly professed his love for Lazio and fondly reminisced about taking in games at the Olimpico with his dad as a young boy. He also famously raised the ire of fans of Lazio’s cross-town rivals, and his former team, when he posted a provocative selfie of himself in an iconic stylized eagle Lazio kit. So when he stepped up to take the winning spot-kick, the twist of fate was not lost on any of his fellow biancocelesti. Instead it just seemed to put the fitting sardonic ending on a match that always seemed just beyond their grasp.

Inzaghi clearly had his men in the proper frame of mind for this Coppa Italia semifinals clash. Having regained form after a short dip in January, Lazio were far more aggressive going forward and clearly intended to exploit Milan in the wide areas. Milan on the other hand seemed intent on maintaining a solid defensive structure and striking on the counterattack. Yet despite several sloppy Milan giveaways and a glaring Donnaruma lapse, Lazio were unable to capitalize. Lazio may have had the better part of possession, corners, shots and shots on net but the first half failed to produce the breakthrough the biancocelesti would have liked and probably deserved.

Lazio were also the more positive team in the first phase of the second half but, again, the critical go-ahead goal eluded them. However the game evened out as the second half clicked along and although both teams produced opportunities, neither managed to find the go-ahead goal. Partly, this was thanks to Strakosha and Donnarumma but it must be said that both teams lacked the clinical finishing commonly required to decide such cagey affairs. It was therefore fitting that the two keepers were the protagonists of the shoot-out as each managed to parry two spot kicks. It was perhaps even more fitting that the Romagnoli winning kick was set up by an error as Luiz Felipe sent a reckless drive sailing over the bar. Incredibly, this is the first pk loss of the Lotito era and the first time Lazio has lost in pks since a 1987 Coppa Italia loss to Juventus.

It’s hard to find much fault with this Lazio team. Almost to a man, the biancocelesti poured their hearts out. Immobile was exhaustive in his pursuit of playable balls, harrying and chasing Donnarumma into a near fatal giveaway that was nearly turned in by the Serie capocannoniere. Leiva, Lulic and Parolo toiled relentlessly in the midfield and DeVrij and Radu conceded little to a Milan side that has a variety of weapons at its disposal. Perhaps the only negative note was Marusic who struggled to exploit a shaky Rodriguez and put Caceres under considerable pressure on a few occasions. But these are minor concerns and it would be grossly unfair to criticize too harshly. Mister Inzaghi certainly didn’t. “No regrets” he told the assembled press after the match. “We deserved more but could not manage to score. Donnarumma did well to keep a clean sheet and penalty kicks are a lottery… I am proud of these boys…” Indeed, with massive clashes against Juve and Dynamo Kiev in the next 7 days, Lazio have no time for regrets.

Player Ratings

Strakosha – 8: Did everything he could on the night, even saving Milan’s first two penalties. Made some vital saves throughout the game and denied Milan the chance to capitalise on our errors.

Caceres – 7: Competent performance from the experienced defender but could’ve been more creative with his passing in the transition from defence to attack.

De Vrij – 6: Weak performance from the Dutchman, lacked a sense of attacking movement and played far too many sideways passes. Was getting exploited by over-the-top balls far too much.

Radu – 7: Another experienced defender proving his worth, nothing special but did what he needed to do.

Lulic – 8: Bright player, after a shaky first half he made real improvement and by the time the second half had finished, he was one of our brightest players.

Lucas Leiva – 9: With exception of the penalty miss, Lucas Leiva was our best player. He commanded the midfield and contributed to both attacking and defensive areas of play.

Parolo – 8: Another good midfield performance, Parolo proved his class. He made some vital interceptions and was always looking to get the ball forward.

Milinkovic Savic – 7: An average performance in comparison to the Sergej we’ve seen in recent weeks. A touch of arrogance is creeping into his game and despite some positive movements, needs to play the pass more frequently than taking the shot himself.

Marusic – 6: Less error prone today but still lacks a lot in his game going forward. He had some bright flashes but overall was disappointing.

Luis Alberto – 7: On the ball he was brilliant and constructed some good chances for the Eagles in the first half. However, his off-the-ball movement was lacking and he failed to provide Immobile with the support that he needed in the final third.

Immobile – 6: Had a couple of good chances that he really should have buried, most notably a 1 on 1 with Donnarumma in the first half. Looking tired, although a lack of support until Felipe Anderson’s introduction was not particularly his problem.

Subs:

Luiz Felipe – 6: Didn’t do all that much after he came on. Penalty miss wasn’t great but Inzaghi should’ve never let him go ahead of De Vrij.

Felipe Anderson – 7: Was a bright introduction to the side and caused Milan lots of defensive problems. Showed his skill at several moments in the second half but made a couple of questionable errors as the game progressed to extra-time.

Lukaku – 7: Much better from Lukaku than his performance against Sassuolo. Still lacking in defensive awareness but made some threatening runs down the left flank.

This post was written by M.A. Fantauzzi, you can follow him on Twitter here!