Como 2-0 Lazio: Nico Paz Tortures Bewildered Aquile | OneFootball

Maurizio Sarri’s second Lazio reign began with a defeat at the Stadio Sinigaglia at the hands of his former Chelsea player, Cesc Fabregas, and his highly impressive Como band.

Lazio Starting Lineup

Sarri began his second reign with a 4-3-3 formation spearheaded by Taty Castellanos. The Argentinian was flanked by Matteo Cancellieri and club captain Mattia Zaccagni. In the middle of the park, Danilo Catldi got the nod instead of Nicolo Rovella, who became a father this weekend following the birth of his daughter.

Matteo Guendouzi and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru took the box-to-box roles, while Manuel Lazzari, Mario Gila, Oliver Provstgaard and Nuno Tavares formed the backline ahead of Ivan Provedel.

Tepid First Half

Como were clearly the better side in the first period, as they dominated possession, and unlike Lazio, they were able to put together decent passing combinations. However, Cesc Fabregas’ men weren’t able to test Provedel on too many occasions, as their most dangerous attempt came from Mergim Vojvoda, who was denied by the Biancocelesti custodian.

Nevertheless, the visitors slightly improved towards the end of the first half. Tavares and Cancellieri combined to set up Guendouzi, but his tame shot failed to trouble Jean Butez. Afterwards, Castellanos had a half-hearted penalty shout, but the VAR dismissed it following a swift review.

Como Break the Deadlock

After the break, the home side took a deserved lead. Nico Paz skipped past Tavares rather easily before setting up Anastasio Douvikas with a stunning through ball between Provstgaard and Gila. The Greek striker attacked the ball with pace, kept Gila at bay, before putting a low shot past Provedel, who put a leg to it, but the power took it beyond him.

Castellanos’ Equalizer Disallowed

Lazio thought they had equalized when Gila found Castellanos with an excellent long ball. The Argentinian striker controlled it expertly before beating Butez, but was then denied by the most marginal offside position.

Nico Paz Doubles Como’s Lead

While Sarri was hoping to turn the tide by introducing the likes of Pedro and Rovella, it was Como who added to their lead thanks to an astonishing freekick from Paz. The Lariani almost made it 3-0, but Vojvoda was denied by the post.

What’s Next for Lazio

Lazio started their campaign on the wrong foot, and as we all know, they won’t be able to make any adjustments to their squad due to the transfer ban. Nevertheless, the Biancocelseti supporters will be expecting a significantly improved display when they host Hellas Verona at the Stadio Olimpico next Sunday.

Como 2-0 Lazio

Scorers: 47′ Douvikas (C), 73′ Nico Paz (C)

Como (4-2-3-1) : Butez; Van der Brempt (69′ Smolcic), Ramon, Kempf, Valle; Da Cunha, Perrone (79′ Caqueret); Vojvoda, Paz (79′ Sergi Roberto), Rodriguez (92′ Kuhn); Douvikas (69′ Morata).

Lazio (4-3-3): Provedel; Lazzari (Marusic 60′), Gila, Provstgaard, Tavares (Pellegrini 65′); Guendouzi, Cataldi (Rovella 65′), Dele-Bashiru (Dia 75′); Cancellieri (Pedro 60′), Castellanos, Zaccagni.

Referee: Gianluca Manganiello (Pinerolo section); Assistants: Meli – Alassio; Fourth official: Turrini; VAR: Aureliano;VAR : Chiffi

Yellow cards: 16′ Nico Paz (C), 30′ Zaccagni (L), 38′ Van der Brempt (C), 75′ Castellanos (L), 75′ Guendouzi (L)