Lazio Finish Above Roma After Sufficient 3-3 Draw with Hellas Verona | OneFootball

A 3-3 draw with Hellas Verona was enough to see Lazio finish 5th in the Serie A table, ahead of intercity rivals Roma.

The Biancocelesti needed at least a point against the Gialloblu in their final game of the season following their rivals’ 3-0 win over Torino, which put the two Roman sides on equal points.

A scary first 15 minutes saw the home side fall 2-0 down but a quick response in the first half levelled things out 2-2. Substitute Pedro managed to net the third early into the second half but a poor defensive moment allowed Martin Hongla to find an equaliser.

Lazio kicked off the match amid an electric atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico, hungry to impress in their final outing of the season.

The home side started the first half well but it was Hellas Verona who took an early lead; a quick attacking move by Igor Tudor’s side ended with a close range Giovanni Simeone header, giving the Gialloblu a 1-0 lead after only six minutes.

Lazio pushed to respond but a counter attack in the 14th minute saw Verona doubled their lead after a stunning long range effort by Kevin Lasagna, a shot that Thomas Strakosha had little chance of saving as it ricocheted off the post and in.

Finally the home side started to find their rhythm; the front three of Mattia Zaccagni, Felipe Anderson and Jovane Cabral pulled off some silky passing play, with the latter netting his first goal for the club to make things 2-1 after 16 minutes.

Continued pushes by Lazio were finally rewarded in the 29th minute thanks to Felipe Anderson; the Brazilian maverick took advantage of some poor defensive organisation to strike home the equaliser, putting things equal at 2-2. It was a just reward for the 29-year-old, who was having a good evening in Rome.

The two teams went into the break all tied up, setting up an exciting final 45 minutes of the season. Lazio finished the first half with an xG of 1.14, higher than 0.74 xG generated by Hellas Verona.

Only a minute into the first half, Zaccagni was replaced by Pedro after a painful looking injury. This proved to be a blessing in disguise as the veteran Spaniard put the Biancocelesti 3-2 ahead in the 62nd minute after a well worked attacking move.

An incredibly poor piece of defending and a rather embarrassing mistake by Strakosha allowed Hongla to net the equaliser in the 76th minute, tying things up at 3-3. The Albanian hadn’t been playing particularly well all evening and the mistake was emblematic of his night.

The match ended 3-3 in Rome, giving both sides a point after a draining battle in the evening heat. Lazio finished the match with an xG of 3.58, far above Hellas Verona’s 1.75.

Whilst it wasn’t a win on the pitch, the result was enough to see Lazio finish above Roma in the league table in 5th, ending the 2021-22 Serie A campaign with 64 points in total.