All things considered, it has been a confounding season for Lazio. After a year that saw them lose in the Quarter-Finals of the UEFA Europa League and Coppa Italia as well as narrowly miss out on Europe after finishing seventh, Lazio sacked Marco Baroni and brought back Maurizio Sarri.
Lazio kicked off the season with a dreadful run of results, losing three out of form, and it’s fair to say that they still haven’t recovered. Lazio have yet to record back-to-back wins in Serie A, and after winning just one of their last five league matches, they currently sit ninth in the table, level on 33 points with eighth-placed Bologna, one point above Sassuolo and Udinese, and 9 points behind Atalanta and Como.
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The sole saving grace of the Biancocelesti’s campaign has come in the Coppa Italia: after edging Milan 1-0 courtesy of Mattia Zaccagni’s late winner, Lazio would erase an early deficit in Bologna and draw 1-1 before prevailing 4-1 on penalties. Lazio will face Atalanta on March 4 in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semifinals before traveling to Bergamo for the second leg on April 22, and if they can advance, they will face either Como or Inter in the final.
Currently nine points away from the European spots, Lazio’s best chance of qualifying for continental football might very well be a cup title. But right now, their main priority is bouncing back from the weekend’s 2-0 defeat to Atalanta and coming away with their first away victory since January 11.
Lazio will be looking to get back to winning ways against Cagliari, who, after coming away with three wins on the bounce, have since lost 2-0 in their last two matches vs. Roma and Lecce. Fabio Pisacane’s team currently sit 13th in the Serie A table, five points behind Lazio and seven off the relegation zone, and they’ll be looking to end their woeful run of form against the capital side. Today, we’re taking a look at Lazio’s recent history with Cagliari.
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You’d have to go back all the way to May 19, 2013 for the last time that Cagliari defeated Lazio, with Daniele Dessena’s late winner giving Gli Isolani a 1-0 victory. Lazio would respond by winning their next two meetings 2-0 before claiming a 4-2 victory at the Stadio Olimpico and a 3-1 win on the road. After three straight fixtures that saw them fall to 10 men – culminating in a relegation in 2014/15 – Cagliari would avoid a sending-off in their first encounter in 19 months, but they would nevertheless fall 4-1 as Ciro Immobile’s brace and goals from Keita Baldé and Felipe Anderson secured a comfortable victory for Lazio.
Whilst Lazio would win 3-0 in their next home meeting courtesy of Immobile’s brace and Bastos’ goal, they failed to get the job done in their next two trips to Sardegna Arena, drawing 0-0 and 2-2. However, Lazio nevertheless managed to close out 2018 with a 3-1 win in the capital before prevailing 2-1 in their next meeting. Lazio looked headed for an unlikely defeat in Cagliari after Giuliano Simeone opened the scoring after eight minutes, but extra-time goals from Luís Alberto and Felipe Caicedo would see Lazio come away with a last-gasp 2-1 win. It was more of the same during Project Restart, with Simeone breaking the deadlock before halftime, only for Sergej Milinković-Savić to equalize and Immobile to seal the comeback win at the hour-mark.
Immobile established himself as one of the best strikers in Europe during his time at Lazio, earning praise from the likes of Gabriele Marcotti and proving to be a thorn in the side of various Serie A sides such as Cagliari. And after sealing the deal in a 2-0 win at Cagliari, he scored the game’s sole goal in a 1-0 win in Rome. Immobile broke the deadlock once again, only for João Pedro to tie things up before assisting Baldé’s go-ahead goal, but Danilo Cataldi would level proceedings late on to snatch a point for Sarri’s men. Lazio nevertheless bounced back in 2022, with Immobile opening the scoring from the spots and Alberto and Anderson sealing a comfortable 3-0 win. The following match would see Pedro open the scoring within 8 minutes en route to a 1-0 victory, followed by a trip to Sardinia that saw Lazio take the lead via an own goal. Immobile doubled the lead, and when Cagliari pulled one back, Anderson was able to restore their two-goal advantage in a 3-1 win.
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Having assisted Gianluca Gaetano’s goal in the previous meeting, Zito Luvumbo would cancel out Boulaye Dia’s opener before the break. However, Cagliari failed to shore up the stalemate, conceding a penalty goal to Zaccagni before suffering two expulsions in quick succession in a 2-1 defeat. After four straight matches with a red card, Cagliari and Lazio served up a rather clean affair with zero bookings being given. Zaccagni broke the deadlock before the break, only for Roberto Piccoli to equalize for the hosts, but Taty Castellanos would restore the advantage shortly after in a 2-1 win. Zaccagni was back at it in the following meeting, doubling the lead in extra time after Gustav Isaksen’s opener and sealing a 2-0 win.
Can Zaccagni continue to deliver the goods against Cagliari? Stay tuned for what promises to be a vital match for Lazio.