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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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:
| 65 |
| 62 |
| 60 |
| 56 |
| 54 |
| 50 |
| 48 |
| 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
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