The lunchtime kick-off in Serie A took place in Rome, where a win for either Lazio or Napoli would take them top of the table ahead of AC Milan, who play in the Derby della Madonnina at San Siro this evening. Napoli headed for the capital as the form side having won their last three matches, while defeats by Roma and Cesena have seen Lazio knocked off the summit by the Rossoneri. Biancocelesti coach Edy Reja faced his old side.
A 2-0 victory for the home team sent them into first place. The goals were clinically taken and it was that ruthlessness that Napoli lacked in the capital.
The match started evenly but it was less than 15 minutes before Lazio took the lead. A great clipped ball into the channel by Stefano Mauri found Mauro Zarate, whose control allowed him to slot the ball past Morgan de Sanctis. Napoli’s next attack should have been the equalising one but they wasted the opportunity.
Lazio almost immediately went about the hunt for a second, with the goalscorer looking dangerous and in the mood to cause some damage, which isn’t always the case. Walter Mazzarri’s Vesuviani passed the ball around neatly enough in the middle of the park but couldn’t get a grip on the play at either end. Edinson Cavani’s occasional involvement produced Napoli’s best moments in the first half an hour but it was Ezequiel Lavezzi who thumped the crossbar with a wonderful curling effort from the edge of the area after a scramble in the Lazio box.
Lazio wanted a penalty in the 32nd minute when Sergio Floccari went down in the area, but Gianluca Grava’s challenge was just about successful enough to prevent the award of a spot kick after more good play from Zarate, who should have made De Sanctis work harder a minute later.
Napoli were determined to pull themselves level and with half time approaching they were causing a few problems for Lazio. The cutting edge wasn’t there, though, and they went down the tunnel a goal behind.
The two sides chipped away at one another in the early second half exchanges, and the game became slightly disjointed around the hour mark thanks to a succession of fouls. In the 61st minute a patient Lazio move led to their second goal. Zarate’s pass found Sergio Floccari in a gaping hole in Napoli’s defence and he finished neatly into the corner to make it 2-0.
Zarate’s low effort in the 67th minute bobbled just in front of De Sanctis and the Napoli goalkeeper’s save was awkward as a result, but effective nonetheless. Substitute Jose Ernesto Sosa’s strike at the other end zipped just wide but Fernando Muslera had it covered in the bottom corner. Cavani should have converted a header less than a minute later. Lazio came even closer, with Zarate’s shot hitting the crossbar with 13 minutes left.
A number of teams have discovered this season that Napoli finish strongly even when behind, but the Biancocelesti held firm at the Olimpico this afternoon. A quiet contribution from Marek Hamsik left Cavani isolated and Lavezzi working alone to open up the defence. The main difference for Lazio was Zarate, who put in a decent all-round performance as well as landing the two crucial blows to send Lazio top.
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