A complete embarrassment of the year for the Italians. Lazio were humiliated at the Olimpico by a 0-3 defeat against Como. Not once did the visitors from Lombardy look at the hosts as if they were even considering giving them a point in this match. Every move made by both sides clearly showed how much confidence and maturity they had in each and every play.
It only took the visitors two minutes to take the lead when Martin Baturina capitalized on total mayhem at the back of the hosts. That goal would be the beginning of the end for Lazio’s hopes of staying competitive throughout the entire match. This goal gave Como control of the flow of the match and allowed them to dictate the pace and create opportunities for themselves.
By the midpoint of the first half, Nico Pas scored his second to put the nail in the coffin and seal a 0-3 victory for the visitors. In the second half, Nico Pas scored again to complete his hat-trick and seal the match and an embarrassing defeat for Lazio.
One thing worth mentioning occurred on 35 minutes when Como had a clear opportunity to add to their lead (and make it an even bigger embarrassment) — the referee awarded a penalty to Lazio for a foul committed on the visitor’s goalkeeper, however, despite having been outstanding throughout the match, Nico Pas was unable to convert the 11-meter shot. Regardless, this missed penalty did nothing to affect the outcome of the match.
Current Table Position and Context
The win has helped Como to solidify their position in the Serie A table with 37 points and a current sixth-place standing. For a team who were only recently relegated from the lower leagues, this type of progress is absolutely impressive. As well as being consistently competitive in their matches, Cesc Fabregas’ team also shows ambition in their quest for European places.
Lazio, on the other hand, are currently finding it difficult to gain any sort of momentum. Following their loss in this match, they remain in ninth place in the Serie A table with only 28 points. Each home slip-up and lack of form makes their hopes of qualifying for Europe less likely.
Quotes and Reactions
Following the match, Como head coach Cesc Fabregas stated “I’m extremely proud of my players today. They showed the right level of character and implemented our plan perfectly.” Fabregas continued by stating “Now that we’ve won, we need to continue moving forward and not take a step back.”
In stark contrast, Lazio player was disappointed with his team’s performance and stated “We didn’t look anything like ourselves tonight. We need to reflect on what went wrong and make some quick decisions to avoid ruining the remainder of this season.”
lazio football club – thelaziali.com
Looking Ahead
Next round Lazio will look to get back to winning ways by defeating Lecce on January 24th, while the same day Como will host Torino, and it looks like Fabregas’ team will have a great opportunity to continue their winning streak.
In another match that was played on the same day as the Lazio/Como match, Cremonese and Verona drew 0-0 — although neither team’s performance shook up the leaders of the table, it certainly added a little more drama to the battle to avoid relegation.
For Lazio, being defeated by a small town football team from Como should serve as a wake-up call for the Italian club, and is further evidence of how unpredictable the Serie A league can be this season and how many new teams are vying to become part of the upper echelon of Italy’s elite clubs.
