Serie A 2018/19: Lazio vs Juventus

Matchday 21 of Italy’s Serie A played out this past weekend as sixth-placed Lazio welcomed league leaders Juventus to the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday evening. Juve sat eight points clear of their nearest rivals Napoli, who had just dropped two points away to AC Milan on Saturday, and so knew victory in the capital would stretch their lead to 11 points.

That 0-0 draw in Milan also opened the door for Lazio to catch the Rossoneri as they looked to take the prized fourth spot in the Serie A table. I Biancocelesti have been in very inconsistent form throughout this campaign and lost 2-1 away to Napoli in their last league outing.

Juventus were victorious in the reverse fixture, winning 2-0 in Turin, and Lazio have struggled overall against top-half opposition this season. All logic suggested another win for I Bianconeri, but with the rain falling heavily and a fervent atmosphere building inside the Stadio Olimpico, hopes of an exciting upset increased. What followed was anything but dull.

Teams

Lazio manager Simone Inzaghi made three personnel changes to his side from their defeat to Napoli as he set his team up in a 3-5-2 formation. Defenders Wallace and Bastos replaced the injured Luiz Filipe and suspended Francesco Acerbi in the back three while Joaquín Correa joined the attack as left-wing-back Jordan Lukaku was dropped. Lucas Leiva reprised his role as the defensive midfield anchor while top scorer Ciro Immobile spearheaded the frontline. The Italian has 11 Serie A goals so far this season, the fifth-highest total in the league.

One man ahead of Immobile in the scoring charts is Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar started on the left of a 4-3-3 formation for Max Allegri’s Juve, while Paolo Dybala took up an unfamiliar false nine role. Former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can began the match in a holding midfield role in the absence of the injured Miralem Pjanić.