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One of the wonderful things about football is its ability to spark a plethora of emotions within the narrow time span of 90 minutes. Yesterday was one of those games that took any given fan of Lazio or Napoli on an emotional rollercoaster, from which laziale were ultimately left disappointed after tasting delirium, contentment, frustration, anger, and desperation. It was one of those games where it is impossible to not be on your feet throughout, screaming at your television as you helplessly watch events unfold. The loss is a bitter one to swallow. A much improved performance was let down by two almost identical set piece catastrophes, a dodgy penalty, and a moment of magic from the annoyingly good Cavani. Reja summed up events rather well- 'you can't score 3 goals at the San Paolo and lose!' If anyone doesn't know what I'm talking about, they had better watch this now. I don't particularly want to dwell on the result or rant too much, but I need to get certain things off my chest.

1. Stefano Mauri. What a man. His tremendous season continues with a simply brilliant solo goal, dodging round defenders to prod home our opener. Deserves his place in Prandelli's Italy side. Just a shame he couldn't have extended our lead as his second attempt dribbled agonisingly wide.
   
2. Brocchi's goal. Because it simply was. How the linesman and ref didn't see it, I'll never know. Maybe they were the same two who officiated England vs. Germany at the World Cup. I try to avoid blaming officials for results, but this time it's unavoidable.
   
3. Biava's red card. Fair enough, it seemed a penalty. Cavani made the most of minimal contact but you just can't charge in from behind in the box. But a red card? Surely not. The 'clear goalscoring opportunity' rule seems to get vaguer every week. I had understood the rule as: if a player is clear through on goal, a cynical foul to prevent an attempt on goal merits a red. I agree with this. But a clumsy and awkward challenge in a crowded penalty box? It isn't the same thing. His sending off ultimately lost us the game, and has lost us a key player for some vital games ahead.
   
4. We didn't deserve to lose. It just needs to be said. It is painful to lose a game of this magnitude anyway, but in this style it is torture. It just seems like we need a lucky break once in a while, like Napoli got yesterday.
   

Fortunately, other results went our way which means our quest for Champions League football is not yet completely over. Udinese lost for the first time in 2011, highlighting their weaknesses. And thank you Juventus for keeping Roma at a safe distance. Meaning the top of the table now looks like this:

Milan	65
Napoli	62
Inter	60
Udinese	56
Lazio	54
Roma	50
Juventus	48
Palermo	43

 

An automatic qualifying spot now looks unlikely, but the battle for fourth is still on. It is essential to get maximum points from the next few games, particularly home games, and hope Udinese and Roma continue to slip up. Next week at Parma would be a good start.

As for the current Champions League, tomorrow night is looking very tasty indeed. Real Madrid take on European rookies Tottenham Hotspur at the Santiago Bernabeu, missing Marcelo and Benzema, with Ronaldo also a doubt. Spurs are so unpredictable this season that it's impossible to predict their performance, but after knocking out A.C Milan and beating Inter to top their group, Mourinho must be sure to treat them as genuine contenders.

Wednesday evening sees the all-English quarter final commence at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea face Manchester United. Another tough one to call and both teams will be seeking revenge for different reasons. Chelsea for their penalty shoot-out loss in the 2008 final in Moscow, and United for their more recent controversial loss in the Premiership.

With the international break over, club football is certainly beginning to build up to an almighty climax. Be sure to be a part of it!

Forza Lazio

Business resumes...

First of all, I have to apologise for my lengthy absence from posting. My focus in the last few weeks has been very much on an array of essay deadlines, so I've not found the time. I do realise that regular posting is the foundation of a good blog though, so from now on will hope to keep the posting at least weekly!

So much has happened in my absence that it would take a dissertation for me to review it all, so let's just have a look at how things stand. This is the current top 8:

1.Milan	62
2.Inter	60
3.Napoli	59
4.Udinese	56
5.Lazio	54
6.Roma	50
7.Juventus	45
8.Palermo	43

 

For the first time this season, we have slipped out of the top 4. This is mainly down to two factors; the incredible form of Guidolin's Udinese side, and our own lame and unconvincing performances. The international break makes our last game seem very distant, but I'll remind you that it was a 1-0 win at home to struggling Cesena. I've discussed our lack of firepower before, and the situation has not improved. I think everyone at this point will be in agreement that our objective must be Champions League qualification, but we are going to need a big finish to pull that off. The good news is our rather comfortable 9-point lead over 7^th placed Juventus, meaning it would take a catastrophic dip in form to completely surrender at the very least a Europa League place. But to stand any chance of playing Champions League football next season, we must get a result this Sunday in one of the toughest fixtures Serie A can offer: Napoli at the San Paolo.

This match is decisive for both sides involved. For Napoli, a win would reignite their Scudetto push, for Lazio a win would put us right back into the competition for a Champions League place. Both managers have underlined the importance of this match, and it will carry extra significance for our man Reja, who took the Vesuviani up from Serie C1 to Serie A and has not faced them as an opponent until now. The expected line-up for tomorrow is this:

Muslera, Lichtsteiner, Dias, Biava, Garrido, Brocchi, Gonzalez, Hernanes, Mauri, Sculli, Zarate

We are expected to be trying a 4-1-4-1 formation, with Brocchi playing between the lines. This may seem a little negative and defensive, but bearing in mind Napoli's devastating trio of Hamsik/Lavezzi/Cavani, it doesn't seem a bad idea, at least to begin with. My only slight worry is Zarate playing as a lone striker. I'm not convinced he has the work rate or physique to be effective in this role, but perhaps being given this opportunity will give him the confidence to pull off a big performance. I don't want to say any more on this topic, as we all know the importance of this match. Let's just hope it's our day.

FORZA LAZIO!