Lazio caused a stunt in Italy on Friday evening by winning at Napoli. The Romans took three points thanks to an unparalleled long shot by Matias Vecino: 0-1. Napoli had only lost once in Serie A all season, but not yet at their own Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Lazio rises to second place, although seventeen points behind Napoli, and issues a huge warning to AZ in passing. The Alkmaarders, who themselves won against Vitesse (0-1), will visit Lazio on Tuesday in the Conference League.
The first major danger of the match came from Vecino. The Lazio midfielder put his head against a cross, but had to watch as his attempt was defused. Napoli faced considerable opposition from the visitors, who again came close to 0-1 via Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. However, the Serb saw his shot blocked. Napoli was forced to take long shots by Lazio, who played solidly. Victor Osimhen, André-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Stanislav Lobotka, among others, saw their attempts go over and wide. A very unusual first half for Napoli, who have won almost everything in Serie A this season.
????????????, who sits! ? Lazio is the team that takes the lead in Naples! ?? A fantastic shot from the Uruguayan Vecino beats goalkeeper Meret ??#ZiggoSport #SerieA #NapoliLazio pic.twitter.com/NECrKjzot9
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) March 3, 2023
Even after the break, the hosts had a hard time. Osimhen and Kvicha Kvaratskhelia encountered the Roman defenses. The latter tried to go with a dribble with less than half an hour, but the Georgian technician also had an unusually difficult time. On the other hand, it was then hit. A fantastic long shot by Vecino turned out to be untenable for Alex Meret: 0-1.
Napoli had to chase and that led minutes later to a dangerous cross from Hirving Lozano, who saw that nothing could be done with his pass. The former PSV player was then replaced by Matteo Politano. Eleven minutes before the end, Napoli forced a huge chance for Osimhen, who headed the ball on the crossbar. Milinkovic-Savic also hit the aluminum on the other side in stoppage time, in his case from a free kick.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | v | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Naples | 25 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 42 | 65 |
| 2 | Lazio | 25 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 22 | 48 |
| 3 | Internazionale | 24 | 15 | 2 | 7 | 16 | 47 |
| 4 | AC Milan | 24 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 47 |
| 5 | AS Roma | 24 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 44 |
| 6 | Atlanta | 24 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 41 |
| 7 | Juventus | 24 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 21 | 35 |
| 8 | bologna | 24 | 10 | 5 | 9 | -2 | 35 |
| 9 | Torino | 24 | 8 | 7 | 9 | -3 | 31 |
| 10 | Udinese | 24 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 31 |
| 11 | Monza | 24 | 8 | 5 | 11 | -6 | 29 |
| 12 | Florence | 24 | 7 | 7 | 10 | -3 | 28 |
| 13 | Empoli | 24 | 6 | 10 | 8 | -9 | 28 |
| 14 | Sassuolo | 24 | 7 | 6 | 11 | -8 | 27 |
| 15 | Lecce | 24 | 6 | 9 | 9 | -3 | 27 |
| 16 | Salernitana | 24 | 6 | 6 | 12 | -16 | 24 |
| 17 | Spezia | 24 | 4 | 8 | 12 | -20 | 20 |
| 18 | Hellas Verona | 24 | 4 | 5 | 15 | -17 | 17 |
| 19 | Cremonese | 24 | 1 | 9 | 14 | -24 | 12 |
| 20 | Sampdoria | 24 | 2 | 5 | 17 | -28 | 11 |