Lecce 0-0 Lazio: Toothless Biancocelesti Produce Mediocre Display

Lecce and Lazio played out a forgettable draw at the Via del Mare. While the home side came close on a couple of occasions, the Biancocelesti never looked like scoring a goal.

Boulaye Dia made his return to Maurizio Sarri’s lineup for the first time since winning the AFCON. The Senegalese striker spearheaded the 4-3-3 system, joined by Mattia Zaccagni and Matteo Cancellieri. The makeshift midfield saw Matias Vecino filling in for the suspended Danilo Cataldi in the Regista role, with Toma Basic and Kenneth Taylor operating in the box-to-box roles.

Lecce dominated the action in the first 45 minutes, as Lazio struggled to come out of their own areas. The hosts almost broke the deadlock on two occasions, but Lassana Coulibaly’s low drive was excellently parried away by Ivan Provedel, while Ylber Ramadani’s outrageous long-range screamer crashed against the woodwork. Therefore, the first half ended goalless.

While the Biancocelesti were hoping that the team would start anew after the interval, it was more of the same in the second period, perhaps with a marginal improvement. Zaccagni managed to put Dia through on goal with a clever pass, but the Senegalese couldn’t beat Wladimiro Falcone, who stormed out of his goal and made himself big.

That opportunity promised an eventful second half for the Biancocelesti, but in hindsight, it proved to be a flash in the pan, as Sarri’s men weren’t able to test the Lecce goalkeeper afterwards. Their only other goal-scoring chance came late in the contest from a counterattack driven by Gustav Iskasen, but it culminated with a disappointing effort from Taylor.

For their part, the Salentians attempted a few more shots in the second half, but Walid Cheddira’s effort didn’t hit the target, while Provedel comfortably dealt with Riccardo Sottil’s shot.

In the end, it felt that the goalless draw was almost inevitable, even if the match had gone for another hour. All in all, it was another underwhelming chapter in Lazio’s disappointing campaign.

Lecce 0-0 Lazio

Lecce (4-3-3): Falcone; Veiga, Siebert, Tiago Gabriel, Gallo; Gandelman, Ramadani, Coulibaly; Banda (63′ Sottil), Stulić (63′ Cheddira), Pierotti (86′ Morente).

Lazio (4-3-3):  Provedel; Lazzari (Pellegrini 73′), Gila (Provstgaard 64′), Romagnoli, Marusic; Taylor, Vecino (Dele-Bashiru 64′), Basic; Cancellieri (Isaksen 81′), Dia (Ratkov 64′), Zaccagni. 

Referee: Chiffi (Padua section); Assistants: Imperilae – Bahri; 4th Official: Rapuano; VAR: Mazzoleni; VAR : Abisso

Yellow cards: 51′ Veiga (Lec), 73′ Provstgaard (Laz), 91′ Tiago Gabriel (Lec).