Lazio 1-0 Genoa: Frattesi Scores Again as Aquile Maintain Perfect Record | OneFootball

In front of a modest crowd at the Stadio Olimpico, Lazio earned their second win in a row, as they beat Genoa in their first Serie A home fixture.

Lazio Starting Lineups

Gattuso made three changes to the starting lineup that beat Bologna on Monday. Romano Floriani Mussolini replaced the injured Adam Marusic, joining Danilho Doekhi, Oliver Provstgaard, and Nuno Tavares at the back. The Portuguese left-back regained his starting role at Alfonso Pedraza’s expense.

Davide Frattesi filled in for the injured Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, linking up with Nicolo Rovella and Kenneth Taylor in midfield. On the contrary, the attacking trident remained intact, with Boulaye Dia leading the line flanked by Matteo Cancellieri and Lazio captain Mattia Zaccagni.

Davide Frattesi Scores Again

The home side had the better of possession in the first 24 minutes, but there was almost nothing to report in terms of chances on either end of the pitch. However, Frattesi extended his scoring streak in the 25th minute.

Nuno Tavares’ initial pass was blocked by Egill Ellertsson, but the Portuguese was able to skip past his Icelandic opponent on his second try, heading to the byline before cutting it back to the centre of the box. Frattesi beat everyone else for the ball and sent a first-time shot towards goal. Although it was too central, Justin Bijlow couldn’t parry it away to safety, allowing it to sneak past him.

Nicolo Rovella’s Injury & Nuno Tavares’ Chance

Sadly for the Aquile, their joy was soon blemished by Rovella’s premature exit. The Lazio Regista has been hoping for a healthier campaign than the previous, so the last thing he wanted was to pick up an injury in August. Reda Belahyane came in to replace him.

Lazio kept pushing for a second before the break. Frattesi almost returned the favour to Tavares by setting him up with a sublime cross, but the left-back’s header rattled the outside of the post. Afterwards, Zaccagni almost pounced on a poor back pass from Alessandro Marcandalli to his goalkeeper, but Bijlow was able to reach the ball first in the nick of time.

Wasteful Lazio Maintain Slim Lead

After the break, the Biancocelesti had a flurry of chances to double their lead. Cancellieri squandered an inviting opportunity after being set up by Zaccagni, who also failed to hit the target in two attempts. The debuting Andrea Pinamonti showed his skills inside the box after receiving the ball with the defender on his back, before managing to turn and shoot from a difficult angle, but he hit the side netting.

Genoa then came to life in the final 15 minutes thanks to the introduction of their new signing, Ethan Meichtry, who was too fast and nimble for the tired Lazio players to handle. The 21-year-old Swiss almost scored instantly after escaping his marker and finding himself one-on-one with Christos Mandas, but he couldn’t hit the target.

In the end, Lazio held on to their one-goal lead to register their second straight 1-0 victory and maintain their perfect Serie A record.

Lazio 1-0 Genoa

Goal: 25′ Frattesi (L)

LAZIO (4-3-3):  Mandas; Floriani Mussolini (80′ Lazzari), Doekhi, Provstgaard, Tavares (63′ Pedraza); Frattesi, Rovella (37′ Belahyane), Taylor; Cancellieri (63′ Isaksen), Dia (80′ Pinamonti), Zaccagni. 

Unused Subs: Motta, Renzetti, Romagnoli, R. Bordon, Pellegrini, Farcomeni, Przyborek. 

Coach: Gattuso.

GENOA (3-4-2-1):  Bijlow; Marcandalli, Ostigard, Vásquez (78′ Amorim); Norton-Cuffy, Frendrup, Sow (58′ Messias), Ellertsson; Baldanzi (78′ Meichtry), Vitinha (63′ Osmajic); Columbus. 

Unused Subs: Sommariva, Stolz, Mitaj, Martin, Havel, Sabelli, Pucza, Otoa, Wiafe, Doucuré, Vaz.

Coach: De Rossi.

Referee: Ermanno Feliciani (Teramo section); Linesmen: Mastrodonato – Fontanii; Fourth official: Mariani; VAR: Abisso; AVAR: Cosso.

Yellow cards: 15′ Ostigard (G), 35′ De Rossi (G), 90’+6′ Amorim (G), 90’+6′ Zaccagni (L).