[SERIE A] Lazio - Juventus (16 Viewers)
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Highly entertaining affair tonight and certainly a better effort than on Wednesday. The atmosphere and gameplay at Stadio Olimpico was very good and luckily we were able to grind out a victory to keep us in the Scudetto race.
It was a typical performance from us (this season) with not many chances created and we struggled again breaking through the opposition defense. Lazio played us hard and they didn't give us much, however they were able to create some opportunities that could have changed the scoreline. Thankfully Nedved was able to work a moment of magic and give us a goal that perhaps saved our Scudetto hopes.
Considering we were missing three of our top players the performance was not bad, however still it was not good enough for Juventus facing a mid-table club. The passing was not very good tonight, especially in the center of the pitch, however we were solid defensively. I guess that's all we can hope for with a squad such as this.
Buffon made a couple nice saves, especially from a Oddo freekick that was swerving in under the bar. Although he scared the shite out of me and my fellow fans when he decided to mock Maradona six yards from our own goal with Rocchi on his back..
Pessotto was decent however he was not tested that much, thankfully. Most of Lazio's attacks came from our left side of the pitch, where our defense is much more solid.
Thuram made some good tackles tonight and this was his better matches in a while. Although he did knock over Fillipini in the box, the ref luckily did not award a penalty to Lazio. He also was able to win more high balls than he usually does as well.
Cannavaro was solid however he made some mistakes he usually doesn't. He almost sent a Lazio forward in on goal with a miskicked clearance.
Zambrotta had an average performance and was not that effective going forward. He was kept busy by E Fillipini and Oddo on the left for most of the match.
Camoranesi had a quiet performance for his standards and drifted in and out of the match.
Blasi started out horrible, once again showing that passing isn't his forte. As the match went on he started to play better and won a lot of balls for us in midfield. Still not good enough to start next to Emerson in our midfield.
Tacchinardi almost set a new record for fastest booking in Serie A coming after only a minute and 25 seconds of play. He could have been sent off in this match so we were lucky.
Nedved's overall performance was extremely poor and he's clearly not entirely fit yet. He was able to win us the game with an exceptional display of skill; collecting the ball, moving to the left and turning his hips to strike the ball past Cassazza. Overtime he became more and more involved in the match and hopefully his form will improve.
Zalayeta was one of our better players on the night and held up the ball nicely for our midfield.
Del Piero was not influential because of the injury. Hopefully he'll be back into action soon because we can't live with only one striker.
Olivera came in for Del Piero and did a decent job covering. He held the ball up nicely and made some good exchanges with Zalayeta. Still, neither are replacements for Zlatan and co.
Kapo came in late and might have touched the ball a couple times. I think he was the player who lofted the ball over the defense to Pavel.
We are not out of the race yet guys, however our boys will need to improve greatly if we want our 28th Scudetto.
It was a typical performance from us (this season) with not many chances created and we struggled again breaking through the opposition defense. Lazio played us hard and they didn't give us much, however they were able to create some opportunities that could have changed the scoreline. Thankfully Nedved was able to work a moment of magic and give us a goal that perhaps saved our Scudetto hopes.
Considering we were missing three of our top players the performance was not bad, however still it was not good enough for Juventus facing a mid-table club. The passing was not very good tonight, especially in the center of the pitch, however we were solid defensively. I guess that's all we can hope for with a squad such as this.
Buffon made a couple nice saves, especially from a Oddo freekick that was swerving in under the bar. Although he scared the shite out of me and my fellow fans when he decided to mock Maradona six yards from our own goal with Rocchi on his back..
Pessotto was decent however he was not tested that much, thankfully. Most of Lazio's attacks came from our left side of the pitch, where our defense is much more solid.
Thuram made some good tackles tonight and this was his better matches in a while. Although he did knock over Fillipini in the box, the ref luckily did not award a penalty to Lazio. He also was able to win more high balls than he usually does as well.
Cannavaro was solid however he made some mistakes he usually doesn't. He almost sent a Lazio forward in on goal with a miskicked clearance.
Zambrotta had an average performance and was not that effective going forward. He was kept busy by E Fillipini and Oddo on the left for most of the match.
Camoranesi had a quiet performance for his standards and drifted in and out of the match.
Blasi started out horrible, once again showing that passing isn't his forte. As the match went on he started to play better and won a lot of balls for us in midfield. Still not good enough to start next to Emerson in our midfield.
Tacchinardi almost set a new record for fastest booking in Serie A coming after only a minute and 25 seconds of play. He could have been sent off in this match so we were lucky.
Nedved's overall performance was extremely poor and he's clearly not entirely fit yet. He was able to win us the game with an exceptional display of skill; collecting the ball, moving to the left and turning his hips to strike the ball past Cassazza. Overtime he became more and more involved in the match and hopefully his form will improve.
Zalayeta was one of our better players on the night and held up the ball nicely for our midfield.
Del Piero was not influential because of the injury. Hopefully he'll be back into action soon because we can't live with only one striker.
Olivera came in for Del Piero and did a decent job covering. He held the ball up nicely and made some good exchanges with Zalayeta. Still, neither are replacements for Zlatan and co.
Kapo came in late and might have touched the ball a couple times. I think he was the player who lofted the ball over the defense to Pavel.
We are not out of the race yet guys, however our boys will need to improve greatly if we want our 28th Scudetto.
Lazio 0-1 Juventus: FT Report
ROME, April 24 (Serie A) - Pavel Nedved saved the day for Juventus with his late strike against Lazio allowing the Turin giants to rejoin AC Milan at the top of Serie A.
Fabio Capello's team, beaten in midweek by Internazionale, were in danger of dropping even more points but Czech star Nedved hit the winner against his former club four minutes from time.
With five games left to play including a head-to-head meeting, Milan and Juve are level on 73 points.
The absence of top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who served his first of a three-match ban against the Biancoceleste, and pivotal midfielders Emerson and Stephen Appiah, hindered Juve who struggled against an inspired Lazio who deserved better.
The hosts had several opportunities but were denied by goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon's outstanding saves.
Juve's game got off to a bad start with Capello being forced to make an early substitution after captain Alessandro Del Piero picked up a back injury.
It was the hosts who had the first opportunity of the game with 12 minutes played after Ousmane Dabo's shot on target took a deflection and narrowly missed Buffon's far post.
Juve replied soon after but Marcelo Zalayeta's central free-kick proved an easy catch for the experienced Angelo Peruzzi.
With 15 minutes played, Ruben Olivera replaced Del Piero who was unable to recover from an earlier clash with Sebastiano Siviglia.
Lazio continued to push forward and in the 19th minute their efforts could have been rewarded had Luciano Zauri's dangerous cross found a team-mate inside the area.
The game continued to flow from end to end but neither team failed to find the all-important finishing touch.
Zalayeta did show his predatory instincts in the 39th minute after getting rid off his marker before firing on target but his shot was cleared by Peruzzi.
And it was the South American striker who was the centre of attention three minutes before the interval, as he appeared to bring down Emanuele Filippini inside his area.
Referee Matteo Trefoloni, who was close to the action, allowed the game to continue much to the anger of the home fans who believed their team deserved a penalty before half-time.
Lazio coach Giuseppe Papadopulo made two substitutions at the re-start, with third goalkeeper Fabrizio Casazza replacing an injured Peruzzi, with regular substitute Matteo Sereni also injured, and Fabio Bazzani taking Paolo Di Canio's place in attack.
Lazio's third keeper was lucky to avoid an embarrassing episode as his first touch was blocked by a clever Olivera, with the ball going narrowly wide of the far post.
Shortly after, Gianluca Zambrotta tried his luck from the distance but his shot went way off target.
Juve threw away another opportunity on the hour mark with Olivera's direct free-kick finding the stands, but he was not the only one as Nedved's effort 10 minutes later went equally high.
The Czech playmaker was however unlucky not to find the net in the 73rd minutes after his shot rebounded off Casazza's chest, much to the surprise of the keeper.
With 10 minutes remaining, Buffon was forced to dive to his left to clear Bazzani's powerful strike.
Capello played his last card with six minutes remaining with Kapo replacing Olivera.
But it was Nedved who struck goal in the 86th minute. Having got rid off two defenders he struck the ball in the top right hand corner.
Juve's joy only prevailed thanks to Buffon's excellent save from Massimo Oddo's powerful strike to the top corner.
ROME, April 24 (Serie A) - Pavel Nedved saved the day for Juventus with his late strike against Lazio allowing the Turin giants to rejoin AC Milan at the top of Serie A.
Fabio Capello's team, beaten in midweek by Internazionale, were in danger of dropping even more points but Czech star Nedved hit the winner against his former club four minutes from time.
With five games left to play including a head-to-head meeting, Milan and Juve are level on 73 points.
The absence of top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who served his first of a three-match ban against the Biancoceleste, and pivotal midfielders Emerson and Stephen Appiah, hindered Juve who struggled against an inspired Lazio who deserved better.
The hosts had several opportunities but were denied by goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon's outstanding saves.
Juve's game got off to a bad start with Capello being forced to make an early substitution after captain Alessandro Del Piero picked up a back injury.
It was the hosts who had the first opportunity of the game with 12 minutes played after Ousmane Dabo's shot on target took a deflection and narrowly missed Buffon's far post.
Juve replied soon after but Marcelo Zalayeta's central free-kick proved an easy catch for the experienced Angelo Peruzzi.
With 15 minutes played, Ruben Olivera replaced Del Piero who was unable to recover from an earlier clash with Sebastiano Siviglia.
Lazio continued to push forward and in the 19th minute their efforts could have been rewarded had Luciano Zauri's dangerous cross found a team-mate inside the area.
The game continued to flow from end to end but neither team failed to find the all-important finishing touch.
Zalayeta did show his predatory instincts in the 39th minute after getting rid off his marker before firing on target but his shot was cleared by Peruzzi.
And it was the South American striker who was the centre of attention three minutes before the interval, as he appeared to bring down Emanuele Filippini inside his area.
Referee Matteo Trefoloni, who was close to the action, allowed the game to continue much to the anger of the home fans who believed their team deserved a penalty before half-time.
Lazio coach Giuseppe Papadopulo made two substitutions at the re-start, with third goalkeeper Fabrizio Casazza replacing an injured Peruzzi, with regular substitute Matteo Sereni also injured, and Fabio Bazzani taking Paolo Di Canio's place in attack.
Lazio's third keeper was lucky to avoid an embarrassing episode as his first touch was blocked by a clever Olivera, with the ball going narrowly wide of the far post.
Shortly after, Gianluca Zambrotta tried his luck from the distance but his shot went way off target.
Juve threw away another opportunity on the hour mark with Olivera's direct free-kick finding the stands, but he was not the only one as Nedved's effort 10 minutes later went equally high.
The Czech playmaker was however unlucky not to find the net in the 73rd minutes after his shot rebounded off Casazza's chest, much to the surprise of the keeper.
With 10 minutes remaining, Buffon was forced to dive to his left to clear Bazzani's powerful strike.
Capello played his last card with six minutes remaining with Kapo replacing Olivera.
But it was Nedved who struck goal in the 86th minute. Having got rid off two defenders he struck the ball in the top right hand corner.
Juve's joy only prevailed thanks to Buffon's excellent save from Massimo Oddo's powerful strike to the top corner.
Very important victory. We don't tend to do too well away to Lazio so to get three points tonight with such a depleted squad could end up being very crucial in the Scudetto race.
To lose Del Piero so early on was disappointing but the team showed good character and deserved to win in the end. I thought we were poor in the first half but did enough to beat Lazio with our second half performance.
Thuram was rock solid as usual and my man of the match.
Good goal by Nedved.
Blasi needs to work on his technique and overall ability as he really is poor in those departments. I think he did reasonably well tonight but if you watch him closely you'll see that he isn't Juve quality.
Camoranesi is proving game after game that his crucial to this team and makes the midfield tick. Don't get me wrong, he wasn't superb tonight or anything like that, but when his colleagues in midfield seem devoid of ideas he tries to take the game into his own hands. He's definitely been one of our best and most reliable players this term.
Oh, and why does Olivera take free kicks when Camoranesi and Nedved are on the field?
Buffon - 6.5
Pessotto - 6
Thuram - 7
Cannavaro - 6.5
Zambrotta - 6
Camoranesi - 6.5
Blasi - 5.5
Tacchinardi - 5
Nedved - 6.5
Zalayeta - 6
Del Piero - no rating
Olivera - 5.5
Kapo - no rating
To lose Del Piero so early on was disappointing but the team showed good character and deserved to win in the end. I thought we were poor in the first half but did enough to beat Lazio with our second half performance.
Thuram was rock solid as usual and my man of the match.
Good goal by Nedved.
Blasi needs to work on his technique and overall ability as he really is poor in those departments. I think he did reasonably well tonight but if you watch him closely you'll see that he isn't Juve quality.
Camoranesi is proving game after game that his crucial to this team and makes the midfield tick. Don't get me wrong, he wasn't superb tonight or anything like that, but when his colleagues in midfield seem devoid of ideas he tries to take the game into his own hands. He's definitely been one of our best and most reliable players this term.
Oh, and why does Olivera take free kicks when Camoranesi and Nedved are on the field?
Buffon - 6.5
Pessotto - 6
Thuram - 7
Cannavaro - 6.5
Zambrotta - 6
Camoranesi - 6.5
Blasi - 5.5
Tacchinardi - 5
Nedved - 6.5
Zalayeta - 6
Del Piero - no rating
Olivera - 5.5
Kapo - no rating
Some thoughts after watching the game.
*Olivera must be really good during practice.
*Blasi shows once again that he is not someone to take place on our midfield.
*Zalayeta - Olivera up front. Scared, anyone?
*Thuram was the man of the match.
*Camoranesi is developing into a really big star. Not the best of matches today, but seldom low-quality performances from Camo these days.
*If I had a saw I would use it on E.Fillipini. What's that clown doing on a football-field?
*3 points feel better when you don't expect them.
*I should have got a yellow card in real life, because I ripped my skirt in two pieces and ran around screaming like a luna when Nedved scored.
Forza Juve and forza the lawyer who will get Ibra ready to play vs Milan.
*Olivera must be really good during practice.
*Blasi shows once again that he is not someone to take place on our midfield.
*Zalayeta - Olivera up front. Scared, anyone?
*Thuram was the man of the match.
*Camoranesi is developing into a really big star. Not the best of matches today, but seldom low-quality performances from Camo these days.
*If I had a saw I would use it on E.Fillipini. What's that clown doing on a football-field?
*3 points feel better when you don't expect them.
*I should have got a yellow card in real life, because I ripped my skirt in two pieces and ran around screaming like a luna when Nedved scored.
Forza Juve and forza the lawyer who will get Ibra ready to play vs Milan.
