Simone Inzaghi had his squad prepared for the match against Genoa as Lazio won 4-0 after this past week’s incident between Inzaghi and Ciro Immobile. The striker started on the bench in his previous match against Inter Milan, after his behaviour against Parma, however, it was not noticeable in this match.

Story of the match

Lazio didn’t wait long to score the first goal of the match as the Biancocelesti midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic opened the scoring in the seventh minute of the game. Savic made a great effort to regain possession of the ball in the midfield, bringing the ball up and he then received a pass outside the box from Immobile and shot on net to find the left corner where Ionut Radu had no chance of stopping it.

Lazio’s strong play in the match continued with their second goal of the game, although it was denied by Video Assistant Referee. Very strong link up play between Immobile, Joaquin Correa, and Luis Alberto had the Spaniard find the back of the net. The goal was called back after VAR determined that a foul was to be given on the play to Lazio. It was a call which Lazio was not happy with, yet did not stop the Biancocelesti from scoring.

Five minutes after VAR denied Lazio of their second goal, Stefan Radu restored the two-goal lead. At the left side of the box, Radu received a pass from Alberto where he struck a beautiful left shot on target towards the right side and, once again, the goalkeeper had no chance to stop the shot.

Lazio dominated most of the match and gave Genoa very little to work with. Thomas Strakosha had to be sharp in the early going of the game as he denied two chances from Genoa. The Rossoblu had a corner kick where the delivery was sent nicely into the box and Cristian Romero headed the ball on net but Strakosha made a brilliant diving save to deny the Genoa forward.

The second half had a slow start for Lazio and poor defending which led to another opportunity for Genoa. The Rossblu were, once again, unable to deliver on their chance. Antonio Sanabria received a nice pass into the box and beat the Lazio defender Radu, however, his header went wide left of the net. It was a chance which Genoa couldn’t afford to miss as they had limited opportunities to get back into the match.

Lazio’s third goal of the match was in the 59th minute with Savic continuing his strong play in the game. The midfielder sent a nice through ball to Felipe Caicedo where the forward brought it in nicely and released a left footed shot to beat Radu.

While Genoa had chances afterwards, which were stopped by Strakosha, Lazio eventually put the game to rest as they got their fourth goal of the match at the 78th minute. It was a great individual effort from Luiz Felipe who brought the ball up and sent a nice pass to Immobile where the striker is sent in on a clear break and beat the goalkeeper for his league leading fifth goal of the season.

As for Genoa, it was a match which they will want to forget. The club was unable to beat Strakosha and deliver on their limited chances but will need a better effort defensively going forward.

Takeaways from the match

Immobile and Inzaghi have rekindled their relationship. After his goal, Immobile went to sideline to celebrate firstly with his coach Inzaghi and the two hugged. If there were ever any doubts about the relationship between the two after this past week, that surely is no longer the case. It was great sight for the Biancocelesti going forward as the striker has been vital to Lazio’s success since his arrival with the club.

Genoa had chances occasionally throughout the match, however, Strakosha was strong and held his ground when opportunities came Genoa’s way. It was a very good performance from the Albanian. Early in the match, he made a strong save on Romero which could have changed the outcome of the game.

Stand-out players

Savic continues his strong play this season as the midfielder delivered a goal and an assist. The Serbian opened the scoring for Lazio with a great individual effort to regain possession of the ball before receiving the pass from Immobile and scoring a nice shot. The midfielder also delivered a nice through ball to Caicedo which led the forward to score their third goal. Savic was all over the field today making very nice passes, being defensively sound and scoring his first of the season which led to the winning goal for Lazio.

Immobile continues to have a good start to the season as the striker scored his fifth goal this season and is currently tied in first place with Sassuolo’s Domenico Berardi and Atalanta’s Duvan Zapata. The striker put in a good effort against Genoa after being disappointed at home versus Parma when he was subbed off. Immobile rewarded Inzaghi with a strong effort throughout the match.

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