Lazio resist late Torino fightback to take first away win of season
Finding the net for the first time since his previous visit to the Stadio Olimpico di Torino – a match where Lazio handed the Granata their only defeat in 16 home league games – Matteo Guendouzi expertly picked up Nuno Tavares' well-timed pass from the left flank to break the deadlock with a powerful low drive from the edge of the box.
Looking to overtake rivals Juventus as league leaders for the first time since their 1976/77 campaign – where they finished one point behind the champions Bianconeri – Torino huffed and puffed, seeing their first clear-cut opportunity arrived just before the break when Ivan Ilić’s thumping volley was brilliantly kept out by Ivan Provedel.
Lazio had surrendered an early lead in their defeat to ACF Fiorentina last matchday, falling victim to two late Albert Guðmundsson penalties.
However, Boulaye Dia soon doubled the visitors’ lead on the hour mark, as a clever nutmeg from Matteo Zaccagni allowed Gustav Isaken’s pass to slip through to the loanee striker, who coolly finished into the bottom right corner to pile the pressure on Paolo Vanoli’s unbeaten Granata.
Much to the joy of the home faithful, Torino reacted moments later, with substitute Che Adams halving Lazio’s lead thanks to a superb low shot from the edge of the box into the bottom left corner, leaving Provedel helpless.
As tensions rose, Vanoli was dismissed from the dugout, and Tijjani Noslin laid the cherry on the cake for Lazio within a minute of coming on with a composed finish from point-blank range, confirming Torino’s failure to match their unbeaten Serie A record in six games from the 1992/93 season.
Despite pulling a goal back in stoppage time via an exceptional acrobatic effort directed into the top corner by Saul Coco, the defeat marks a second in succession for Torino following their Coppa Italia elimination at the hands of Empoli. A third league victory for Lazio, on the other hand, revives hopes of staying in touch with the top six, although they spurned the chance to secure three head-to-head clean sheets in a row for the first time since 1973.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Matteo Guendouzi (Lazio)
