Lazio Beat 10-Man Twente to Maintain Perfect Europa League Record | OneFootball

Lazio extended their dream start to the Europa League campaign by overcoming their hosts FC Twente at the De Grolsche Veste Stadium in Enschede.

The encounter took a major turn in the 11th minute when Luca Pellegrini’s excellent long ball put Boulaye Dia through on goal. Twente goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall rushed out of his box in an attempt to beat the Senegalese to the ball, but instead caught the latter’s leg with a sliding tackle, earning himself an immediate dismissal and leaving the Dutch with a man down for the majority of the evening.

The Biancocelesti thus pounced on their numerical advantage to control the action and eventually take the lead in the 35th minute. Pellegrini was the protagonist once again as he picked up Matias Vecino with a sublime ball. Dia’s run attracted a host of defenders, freeing up Pedro behind him.

The Spaniard thus received the ball from Vecino and coolly slotted it past the backup goalkeeper Prezmyslaw Tyton. The linesman initially raised his flag to signal an offside on the Uruguayan midfielder, but it was later overturned by VAR, so the goal eventually stood.

Lazio Score Twice Against Twente

The Italians then had several chances to add to their lead, but Pellegrini and the debuting Samuel Gigot failed to find the back of the net. Taty Castellanos came off the bench in the second half and though he won a spot-kick which he was eager to convert, but the referee overturned his decision following an on-field check.

Nevertheless, Lazio still managed to find a second goal in the final minutes when Fisayo Dele-Bashiru selflessly put the ball in the path of Gustav Isaksen whose chip was just enough to beat Tyton. Therefore, the Italian capital side made it three wins in as many Europa League outings this season, keeping the perfect record intact.

Twente 0-2 Lazio

Goals: 36′ Pedro (L), 87′ Isaksen (L)

TWENTE (4-2-3-1) : Unnerstall; Van Rooij, Hilgers, Bruns, Salah-Eddine (80′ Ltaief); Regeer, Vlap (60′ Eiting); Steijn (60′ Besselink), van Wolfswinkel, Van Bergen (13′ Tyton); Lammers (46′ Kuipers).

LAZIO (4-2-3-1) : Mandas; Marusic, Gigot (77′ Patric), Romagnoli, Pellegrini; Dele-Bashiru, Vecino (64′ Rovella); Tchaouna (89′ Gila), Pedro, Zaccagni (64′ Castellanos); Dia (77′ Isaksen).

Referee: Dabanovic (MNE)

Red card: Unnerstall (T)

Yellow cards: van Wolfswinkel (T), Van Rooij (T), Bruns (T), Vlap (T)