Lazio hadn’t won away from home since the end of September (3-0 at Marassi against Genoa) and to return to success away from the Olimpico they chose the most complicated way. But perhaps also the most exciting. Nine against eleven, leveraging the spirit of sacrifice, character and determination. Parma were beaten on points in the first half (in numerical parity), when Sarri’s team came close to scoring on three occasions, and beaten with Noslin’s goal in the second half in double numerical superiority. An undeserved victory for Sarri’s team, which also gave a lesson in tactics: if you are organized and have clear game principles, you can win even with two men less.
LAZIO DOMINATION Spread out according to the usual 4-3-3, Lazio immediately took possession of the pitch and dribbled with courage and authority in the faces of their opponents. Parma chooses the only possible match plan: containment and restarts. But it is Sarri’s men who immediately become dangerous, in the 4th minute, with Cancellieri: well done Corvi. Then, in the 16th minute, a touch from Marusic was saved on the goal line by Estevez. Finally, we are in the 38th minute of the first half, it is Basic who calls the goalkeeper Corvi to make a non-trivial intervention from inside the area. Parma recorded a conclusion from Bernabè in the 14th minute (Provedel spreads confidently), a shot from Pellegrino that goes off the radar and a header from Benedyczak following a cross from Oristanio. But it is in the 42nd minute that the match takes a clear turn: Zaccagni intervenes harshly in midfield on Estevez and referee Marchetti immediately draws out the red card. At this point we see another challenge.
PARMA IDEE CONFUSE Parma replace Delprato (muscle problem in his right thigh) with Troilo. Lazio plays with a logical 4-4-1, but doesn’t give up attacking. The Emilians clung to the plays of Pellegrino who, in the 2nd minute, challenged Provedel in a difficult save. However, Cuesta’s team, in numerical superiority and therefore called upon to construct the maneuver, demonstrates a worrying paucity of ideas. Either he goes on the outside to throw the ball in the middle, or it’s night. Never once do you attempt central percussion, never once do you try to enter the Lazio defense with triangles. The entrances of Ondrejka and Cutrone are of little use. In the 32nd minute another episode favorable to Parma: the referee sends off Basic for violent conduct towards Estevez (punch in the stomach). Yet, despite the double numerical superiority, Parma manages to get stuck like a chicken on a spit: sensational mistake by Valenti, Noslin (recently substituted for Castellanos) strolls into the area, avoids Corvi’s intervention and scores the 1-0. The reaction of the Emilians, nine against eleven, was limited to a shot by Estevez, on which Provedel surpassed himself, and an overhead kick by Pellegrino which caressed the post. And in the Parma public there is the feeling of having thrown away a more unique than rare opportunity, while Lazio enjoys a success that it is no exaggeration to define as epic.
