Lazio Player Ratings vs Monza: Late Drama Sees Spoils Shared

To start off Saturday in Serie A Igor Tudor and his Lazio side travelled north to face a Monza side with very little left to play for as the season approaches it’s end.

The Lazio gaffer decided to continue with Christos Mandas in goal despite Ivan Provedel returning from injury. In defence he entrusted Elseid Hysaj with filling in for Mario Gila on the left of defence. Talismanic striker Ciro Immobile returned to the starting line-up for the first time in almost a month.

It took him just eleven minutes to get back on the score sheet by sidefooting past the helpless Michele Di Gregorio who had made a fine save moments earlier. Lazio went in for the break 1-0 up and in good spirits.

Monza pinned their visitors back for large stretches of the second half. Eventually they equalised in the 73rd minute through Milan Djuric after a V.A.R. delay. They looked to have thrown it all away with five minutes to play when Matias Vecino was gifted a goal that he took with one touch and seemed to have secured all three points. Djuric had different ideas when he rose highest in injury time. Planting his header past Mandas he ensured the late drama saw the spoils shared.

The  look of disappointment on the faces of many Lazio players at full-time told you all you needed to know about their slim Champions League hopes.

Here’s how Lazio rated from 1 to 10:

Lazio (3-4-2-1)

Christos Mandas – 6.5

Not required to exert himself for many of Monza’s early efforts. Good save to deny Mattia Pessina midway through the first half. Super stop in the lead up to the first goal but couldn’t keep the follow up out. Gave a good account of himself.

Elseid Hysaj – 6

Not a spotless display for the Albanian but he realised this would be a tough game so paid close attention to detail. His runs forward were well timed but not spotted. Fatigued slightly and made a mistake on the occasion of Monza’s first goal. Genuine performance.

Alessio Romagnoli – 5.5

Hit and miss this evening. Keeping up with fast players was a bit of an issue and he was booked. Otherwise he couldn’t shoulder much of the blame for the goals.

Patric – 5.5

Could have been faster closing down attackers to begin with. Settled in but was guilty of overcomplicated his job sometimes. Tenacious throughout but he forgot Djuric for the first goal.

Mattia Zaccagni – 5

Tudor asked a lot of Zaccagni by starting him in the wingback position. The Italian responded by being cautious but was obviously not comfortable. Withdrawn after just 30 minutes, perhaps because of a yellow he picked up.

Matteo Guendouzi – 5.5

Didn’t really settle into the game properly in an attacking sense. Lack of creativity hurt his side but he was required more urgently in the midfield battle where he won some and lost some. Not amazing.

Daichi Kamada – 6.5

Seemed to be revved up for this one, not afraid of a tackle and provided cover for Hysaj. May as well be given an assist for his shot that spilled out for Immobile to finish. Desire was there for all to see. A different player compared to just two months ago.

Adam Marusic – 6.5

Cautious today, preferring to leave most attacking to others. On the one occasion he did go forward he almost got on the end of a sensational Luis Alberto pass. Well balanced.

Luis Alberto – 6

Landed oddly on his ankle but continued. As per usual almost all his passes were progressive and incisive. When a shot was on he took it too. Lazio had a lead to protect so he was hauled ashore. In hindsight that may have been premature.

Felipe Anderson – 5.5

After lurking in the shadows for the opening 20 minutes he revealed himself with sharp moves. Not everything went to plan and his decision making could have been quicker. Never neglected his defensive duties but if he was more clinical up front Lazio may have gotten the job done.

Ciro Immobile – 7

Returned with a real poacher’s finish, quickly reacting to a loose ball and sidefooting home. Irritated Monza with runs of real consequence but the second goal never came. Now has 250 Serie A goal involvements in the past 12 years. 50 more than the nearest challenger.

Substitutes:

Nicolo Casale – 4.5

Kept Djuric onside for the first goal then never rose with the striker for the second. Quite discouraging.

Matias Vecino – 6.5

The man who only scores big goals strikes again. He burst onto the scene when he saw the chance and only needed one touch to put his side ahead.  Unfortunately it wasn’t to be this evening.

Danilo Cataldi – 5

Couldn’t always keep things from boiling over in the middle of the park. Took too much out of the ball and gave Monza the chance to equalise. Better communication was needed with Patric to mark Djuric.

Taty Castellanos – 5.5

Effort was obvious but he had hardly anything to work with. No stand out opportunity.

Pedro – N/A

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