Former Lazio man Hernanes struck twice to sink his old employers in what was a frenetic encounter between the two sides at the Stadio Olimpico.
Inter Milan has kept its Europa League hopes alive after defeating a spirited Lazio side 2-1 in Rome.
The home side got off to a great start when talisman Antonio Candreva struck on seven minutes to give Lazio the lead. At the 24 minute mark, however, Rodrigo Palacio was pulled down at the edge of the box by Brazilian centre-back Mauricio, who was then sent off for the foul. The free kick was converted by Hernanes, levelling the sides and flaring the tempers of the home support.
The second half began in similar fashion, as more drama ensued within 20 minutes of the restart. Lazio goalkeeper Federico Marchetti was the second Biancocelesti player to be shown red, this time for a foul on Mauro Icardi just after the hour mark. The Argentine took and missed the resulting penalty, with substitute goalkeeper Etrit Berisha diving low to his left to divert the shot from goal.
It was Hernanes again, however, who hit the net late on in the tie to secure the three points against his former club, showing great composure to slot the ball past the substitute keeper in the 84th minute.
Inter makes its own luck
The Nerazzurri ended the match up against nine men for the second time in three games as Mauricio and Marchetti were sent off in the 24th and 61st minute respectively, giving the away side quite an advantage. Inter, though, forced these errors from the Lazio men.
Mateo Kovacic, who was a thorn in Stefano Pioli’s side all game, played Palacio through on goal with a delightful lobbed pass over the top of the Biancocelesti defence, forcing Mauricio to commit a last-man foul on the Argentine.
Lukas Podolski, likewise, showed a deft touch to play Icardi in behind Lazio’s back four, resulting in a penalty for Inter and a red card for Marchetti.
Lazio display fighting spirit despite defeat
Pioli’s men were in control of the tie up until they went a man down. After this, however, the Biancocelesti continued to smother Inter in midfield and also managed to give Samir Handanovic some work to do, as World Cup winner Miroslav Klose nearly finished between the Slovenian’s legs to give Lazio the lead in the second half.
As well as this, the home side, who was spurred on by the crowd after Berisha’s save from Icardi’s penalty, kept the pressure up on its opponent as the team had brief periods of dominance inside Inter Milan’s defensive third, even with nine men.
Inter’s full-backs show they are unable to cope with pace
In the opening exchanges of the game, when Lazio had all 11 men on the pitch, wingers Felipe Anderson and Candreva gave Inter full-backs Danilo D’Ambrosio and Juan Jesus a torrid time, with direct running and intelligent interplay between themselves and their fellow attackers.
Candreva’s goal came as a result of a darting run down the left from Anderson, who played it inside to Candreva to finish. Throughout the rest of the game, even with nine men, Lazio found a lot of pleasure down the wings and created many attacking opportunities.
Icardi exhibits flashes of discomposure
The prospect has delivered on a consistent basis in Serie A this season, scoring 18 goals in an indifferent campaign for the Nerazzurri. Against Lazio, though, the Argentine was wasteful, spurning two golden chances (one from the penalty spot) to increase his tally for the season.
Only minutes after Lazio took the lead, Fredy Guarin teed up Icardi just right of the penalty spot. Most watching would have thought it was a foregone conclusion what would happen next. However the ball was blasted over the bar in un-Icardi-like fashion.
The 22-year-old was then given the chance to redeem himself after being fouled by Marchetti in the box. With four goals from four penalties in Serie A in 2014-15, Icardi slowly stepped up and hit a tame penalty that was easily saved.
If he is to be a key factor in Inter’s attempted resurgence in the future, Icardi must show composure in front of goal on a regular basis.
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