Lazio Move Three Points Clear at Serie A Summit
Lazio coach Gennaro Gattuso warned his team not to get carried away after they surged to the Lazio Serie A summit on Sunday with a 2-1 victory over Cagliari, moving three points clear of Inter Milan. The win gave Lazio a sixth straight Serie A victory and took them to 28 points from 10 games, in the club’s best start to a league campaign.
Lazio made a poor start as Cagliari took the lead through M’Bala Nzola in the 20th minute, before goals in either half from Gustav Isaksen and Andrea Pinamonti turned the match around. Lazio last won Serie A in 2000, and their ambitions remain modest according to Gattuso, despite their position at the summit.
“Our target is to avoid relegation, and we still need 12 more points,” Gattuso said. “We need to get our heads down and work, and not look at the table.”
Lazio pulled clear of Inter after the champions lost the Milan derby. AC Milan beat champions Inter 3-1 on Saturday, a result that left Inter three points behind Lazio on 25 points. Unbeaten Roma sit third on 24 points, after beating Udinese 5-2 on Saturday, while Como climbed back to fourth with a 1-0 win over rock-bottom Venezia.
The Lazio Serie A summit picture
The table at the top now reads clearly. Lazio lead with 28 points from 10 games. Inter follow on 25, Roma sit third on 24, and Como are fourth on 23, one point behind Roma. The gaps are small, but Lazio’s six-match winning run has given them breathing room that no other side in the top four can claim.
Some Lazio fans are not watching at all. As has been the case in recent home matches, Lazio played in front of largely empty sections of the Stadio Olimpico, with many ultras and supporters continuing their boycott in protest against owner and president Claudio Lotito, whom they accuse of failing to invest sufficiently in the squad. The boycott forms a strange backdrop to the club’s best league start: a team top of the table, playing to a partly empty home ground.
Gattuso’s public caution fits that mood. By naming relegation avoidance as the target and counting the 12 points still needed, he is trying to keep a young winning run grounded. It is a familiar tactic from a coach who knows how quickly a lead can vanish in a league where the chasing pack includes Inter, Roma and a rising Como side.
Juventus break Napoli resistance
Struggling giants Juventus got their fifth win of the season thanks to Bosnian wonderkid Kerim Alajbegovic producing a moment of magic. The teenager broke the deadlock in the 70th minute with a thumping left-footed drive from outside the box.
Napoli were then reduced to 10 men as Luca Marianucci earned a second yellow for kicking substitute Jeremie Boga, who added a second goal with a strike that rivalled that of Alajbegovic. That result lifted Juventus to seventh. Napoli are eighth and host leaders Lazio next weekend, a fixture that will test whether Gattuso’s side can hold their lead away from home.
What happens next
How did Lazio beat Cagliari?
Cagliari led through M’Bala Nzola in the 20th minute, before Gustav Isaksen and Andrea Pinamonti scored in either half to give Lazio a 2-1 win, their sixth straight Serie A victory.
How many points do Lazio have?
Lazio have 28 points from 10 games, three clear of Inter on 25, with Roma third on 24 and Como fourth on 23.
What did Gattuso say about the title race?
Gattuso said Lazio’s target is to avoid relegation, that they still need 12 more points, and that the team must get its head down, work, and not look at the table.
Why are sections of the Stadio Olimpico empty?
Many Lazio ultras and supporters are continuing a boycott in protest against owner and president Claudio Lotito, whom they accuse of failing to invest sufficiently in the squad.
Who do Lazio play next?
Lazio travel to Napoli next weekend. Napoli are eighth after losing to Juventus, who rose to seventh after a win secured by Kerim Alajbegovic and Jeremie Boga.
