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henrytg
Di Canio: Palermo won't be walk in the park
September 25, 2012
Lazio manager Paolo Di Canio remained cautious in his press conference ahead of playing Palermo, warning that it won't be easy and that Palermo shouldn't be underestimated.
Lazio narrowly lost their last game to Juventus. Photo: Ansa.
'People are very quick to write of Palermo, but I did that with Slaven Belupo and it came back to bite me. The reality is that there are no easy games in football anymore, and you always have to give 100% in order to win.'
'You can't go into games, especially one against a team like Palermo, assuming you'll get the three points.'
'They have some excellent players, Fabrizio Miccoli comes to mind, and it would be foolish to disrespect them by just brushing them off as an easy game.'
'Having said all that, I'm confident we can get the job done. Despite losing our last game, I feel we gave a good account of ourselves against Juve, and that if we play the same way again tomorrow, we will win comfortably.'
'We've lost two games in a row, and we really want to stop that run before it gets any worse. Before you know it, you've lost five in a row and you're distanced from the top of the table. We our first win in the Serie A to end that now, and get back to challenging at the top of the table.'
Lazio are currently 15th with 2 points out of three games, and a win against Palermo could push them up into the top ten, which would be a good way to kickstart the Biancocelesti's season.
henrytg
Lazio 2-0 Palermo
September 26, 2012
A debut goal from Ogenyi Onazi and a late strike from Mauro Zarate gave Lazio a comfortable victory over Palermo in a match they dominated from start to finish.
Zarate (right) and Onazi (left). Photo: Ansa.
Despite Lazio not always having control of possession, there was always a sense that the Biancocelesti had control of the match, and they created their first chance after 17 minutes.
Nico Gaitan played a perfect through ball to wing back Alvaro Gonzalez, who unleashed a vicious shot that struck the inside of the post from a fairly narrow angle just inside the box. It fell to Palermo defender Ezequiel Munoz, who cleared the ball into row Z.
Only two minutes later though, it was Palermo who retaliated, and Abel Hernandez had a chance to break the deadlock. Barreto played a short through ball from the edge of the box which found the Uruguayan striker, however Marchetti closed down well and the Italian keeper parried it out for Cana to clear.
At the 25 minute mark, Senad Lulic thought he'd scored for Lazio when he volleyed home after Nico Gaitan found him free in the box, however the goal was ruled out for offside to the disappointment of the Biancocelesti.
Ten minutes later though, and Lazio finally had a goal which stood. After some interplay between Klose and Gaitan on the edge of the box, it was the Argentine who played through Onazi onside for a one on one with Ujkani. The Nigerian, although defensive midfielder by trade, produced a striker's finish to beat the Palermo keeper at the near post and to put Lazio in front.
Lazio almost had the chance to go two in front one minute after scoring, when sloppy some sloppy Palermo passing allowed Gaitan to pick a pass over the defence to Klose, who controlled and gave himself a one on one with the keeper. With everyone expecting him to convert, it was in fact Ujkani who pulled off a stunning save to prevent the goal.
Half time came and went without another dangerous Palermo chance, and the second half wasn't any more threatening for Lazio. Rarely troubled, Palermo was restricted to a few easy shots for Marchetti and a few headers that missed the target.
It wasn't until 80 minutes that the match yielded another goal, when Palermo were caught with a blistering counter attack. With Palermo pushing men up for an attacking free kick, Arevalo Rios was left alone at the back to defend a counter attack lead by Konko, Zarate and Klose when the ball was cleared by Lazio.
It was an easy pass for Konko to give to Zarate, and that left the Argentine and Klose against the keeper. Zarate didn't help though, smashing it past Ujkani to rule out a Palermo comeback.
The match didn't slow down though, and soon after Zarate's goal Lazio narrowly missed adding a third when there was a game of pinball in the box resulting from a dangerous corner from Lulic.
Even Palermo thought they'd scored deep into added time when Macheda headed in a corner, however the referee ruled that there was a foul on a Lazio player, to the disbelief of the Palermo players.
The match ended as a win and clean sheet for Lazio, who next play Catania in Sicily.
Lineups:
Lazio: Marchetti, Ciani, Diakite, Gonzalez (Konko 45), Cana (c), Lulic, Hernanes, Onazi (Brocchi 82), Gaitan (Ederson 74), Zarate, Klose.
Subs not used: Carrizo, Radu, Andre Dias, Scaloni, Zauri, Matuzalem, Candreva, Rocchi, Kozak.
Yellow cards: Cana
Goals: Onazi (33), Zarate (82)
Palermo: Ujkani, von Bergen, Munoz, Mantovani (Donati 45), Giorgi, Arevalo Rios, Barreto (Pisano 41), Ilicic, Budan (Miccoli 56), Macheda, Hernandez.
Subs not used: Benussi, Brienza, Dybala, Milanovic, Viola, Morganella, Sosa, Garcia, Labrin.
Yellow cards: Mantovani, Barreto, Giorgi.
Goals: None.
Stats:
Shots: Lazio 17-13 Palermo
On Target: Lazio 8-7 Palermo
Fouls: Lazio 12-21 Palermo
Possession: Lazio 47%-53% Palermo
steveekay