Lazio 2-0 Cagliari: Isaksen & Zaccagni Extend Positive Aquile Run | OneFootball

Lazio secured their fourth win of the Serie A campaign by beating Cagliari by two unanswered goals and subsequently extended their unbeaten run to six.

Lazio Starting Lineup

Maurizio Sarri only made one change to the lineup that drew in Pisa on Thursday, replacing Luca Pellegrini with Manuel Lazzari, and consequently switching Adam Marusic from right-back to the left flank. Hence, the Lazio boss reverted to the same starting eleven that beat Juventus a week ago.

Mario Gila and Alessio Romagnoli completed the backline in front of Ivan Provedel, with Toma Basic keeping his place alongside Danilo Cataldi and Matteo Guendouzi in midfield. Boulaye Dia spearheaded the Aquile’s charge, flanked by Mattia Zaccagni and Gustav Isaksen.

Forgettable First Half

The action in the first half was lukewarm at best. Cagliari created the first genuine chance of the match, when Michael Folorunsho found a hole in Lazio’s backline as he sneaked into the box from the left side. Gianluca Gaetano picked up his run, but Folorunsho’s shot was too weak to trouble Provedel.

Lazio Waste Three Chances

For their part, Lazio only launched an onslaught between the 28th and 31st minutes, creating three successive chances. On the first occasion, Zaccagni dribbled past Gabriele Zappa on the left wing before feeding Basic in the box, but the Croatian’s first-time shot went high.

The hosts then replicated the move from the right flank, with Lazzari teeing up Zaccagni, who also couldn’t hit the target. Lazio were finally able to test Elia Caprile with a lovely curler from Marusic that yielded a flying save from the rising Italian goalkeeper.

Afterwards, Lazio dropped their rhythm once more, while Folorunsho tried his luck from an acute angle, but failed to beat a well-positioned Provedel.

Gustav Isaksen Breaks the Dealock

After the break, Lazio didn’t necessarily look like scoring, but Isaksen pulled one off almost out of nowhere. Guendouzi laid the ball to the Dane, who cut from the right wing to the centre. After finding himself a good shooting angle, he fired a low drive to the far corner, beating the outstretched Caprile.

Mattia Zaccagni Secures the Win

Cagliari boss Fabio Pisacane brought in the likes of Mattia Felici, Zito Luvumbo and Leonardo Pavoletti in search of an equalizer, but they only managed to forge very few goal-scoring opportunities.

Mattia Zaccagni (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

On the contrary, it was Lazio who doubled their lead in the 90th minute through Zaccagni, who pounced on a poor back pass from Matteo Prati, before smashing an unstoppable shot into the top corner, leaving Caprile stranded.

With this win, Lazio climbed to 8th place in the Serie A table, and they’ll be hoping to keep their unbeaten streak intact when they take on Inter Milan at San Siro on Sunday.

Lazio 2-0 Cagliari

Scorers: 65′ Isaksen (L), 91′ Zaccagni (L).

Lazio (4-3-3) : Provedel; Lazzari (Pellegrini 72′), Gila, Romagnoli (Provstgaard 46′), Marusic; Guendouzi, Cataldi, Basic (Vecino 61′); Isaksen (Pedro 83′), Dia (Noslin 83′), Zaccagni. 

Cagliari (4-3-1-2) : Caprile; Zappa, Mina, Luperto, Palestra (79′ Idrissi); Folorunsho (79′ Pavoletti), Prati, Adopo; Gaetano (56′ Felici); Borrelli (68′ Kiliçsoy), Esposito (68′ Lovumbo). 

Referee: Sacchi; Assistants: Mondin – Monaco; Fourth Official: Galipò; VAR: Paterna; VAR: Di Paolo.

Yellow cards: 46′ Gaetano (C), 58′ Felici (C).