Teams that win the scudetto find a way to win when they don't play well. We did not do that today.
For the most part, I would say we looked the stronger team in terms of abilities, but Lazio executed a lot more than we did. Their finishing did them in, though, as they did a lot more to set up dangerous play than we did. They just couldn't pull the trigger.
So overall, while the game was a bit disappointing, a point away at Lazio is never a bad thing. Especially when we aren't playing well.
Manninger - 5 - Completely at fault for the first goal. But did make up for it later clamping down on some second-half Lazio runs.
Mellberg - 6 - Too many giveaways. Unnecessary. But made a crucial clear towards the end of the match that preserved the point. And did get a nice header for the point. I cannot rate him lower on those merits alone.
Ariaudo - 6 - So far, so good. A couple of really good passes. Needs to improve his positional sense, but I have to give him a break because he's new. Could be promising, but it's way too early still.
Legro - 6.5 - Pretty solid, both in covering for defensive holes and in creating some chances going forward/on set pieces. My MOM.
Molinaro - 6 - Generally useful on defense. Prevented crosses, and often marked well. Didn't get anything going offensively, however.
Marchionni - 5 - Insufficient in more than a few ways. The heel flick at the end was nice, but it was only brief moments like that which were remotely redeeming.
Sissoko - 6 - Needed to do more to preserve possession. But made good tackles (save for the idiotic one that will suspend him), and a couple of good offensive runs.
Zanetti - 5 - Shaking some rust perhaps. But we really needed him to step up and create more in this match. Our midfield was pretty anemic, and he played a big role in that.
Nedved - 6 - Gave some decent coverage of the field on either end. Wish we had some technically better passes. Some good thinking today, just his touch was off.
Del Piero - 5.5 - Seemed to play back more to compensate for our midfield woes. But even so, could not create much today.
Amauri - 5 - For some reason, he didn't seem to get as involved in the build-up of play as usual. And it hurt.
Subs:
Marchisio - 5 - Didn't make his presence known and should have.
Giovinco - 4.5 - Maybe I'm being too harsh, but he was poor.
Coach:
Ranieri - 5 - Subbing Zanetti was probably a good choice. But given the rest of the play, we needed to do more. Uninspired performance all around.