On Wednesday night, Lazio hosted Bayern Munich at the Stadio Olimpico in the first of two Champions League play-off round-of-16 meetings.
Harry Kane led the Bayern attack, spearheading Leroy Sané, Thomas Müller and Jamal Musiala.
Lazio’s leader was, as usual, captain Ciro Immobile, who took his place in the central attack between Felipe Anderson and Gustav Isaksen.
The home team’s Matias Vecino stepped off the warm-up and was replaced by Danilo Cataldi.
Bayern came into play after a group stage in which they won all six games. In the last 40 group stage matches, the Germans have won 36 and drawn four.
Lazio started with confidence, but the first dangerous chance of the game went to Kane, who met a cross from the right. However, the ending was over.
Bayern tried to break the deadlock, not least when Sané thundered a free kick from close range, but all the way into the break it was 0-0.
– Lazio stand up well, stated Olof Mellberg in TV4 Play’s broadcast.
Vicki Blommé filled in.
– Of course, Bayern have come close a few times, but Lazio work together and defend with many players, she said in the TV4 Play studio.
The half contained only one finish on goal, but in the second came the next – and it was close to 1-0 to Lazio.
Luis Alberto hit a beautiful pass to Gustav Isaksen. However, the Dane hesitated in front of goal and the free-kick spilled into the sand when he shot straight at Manuel Neuer.
Halfway through the half, Lazio countered and Immobile dribbled forward and played out to Isaksen, who was brought down by Dayot Upamecano.
The referee did not hesitate – penalty kick and straight red card for the French centre-back.
– He tries to go for the ball, but it gets really ugly in the end, Mellberg said.
Captain Immobile stepped forward from eleven meters and safely made it 1-0 for the home team.
– It is clear that they should celebrate, but if I had been Immobile, I would have run straight away, taken the ball, rushed down to the center line and signaled full throttle for the last 20-25 minutes, said Mellberg and continued:
– They must make the most of these minutes and see if they can score one or two more goals. No matter what, it will be tough in Munich. It is important to take care now. Considering the expulsion, Bayern are probably quite happy with this.
In fact, both teams looked pretty happy after the goal. Bayern were keen not to concede any more, while Lazio didn’t mind a 1-0 victory.
That was also the case, despite bids from Anderson and Pedro at 2-0. The Italians drew the longest straw and now the second round awaits in Germany on March 5.
– Strong defensive effort by Lazio who lie low for long periods. Well deserved the victory, even if they could take advantage in the final minutes where they played one more game. I still keep Bayern as favorites to advance, says Mellberg after the final whistle.
– I don’t think it looks good (for Bayern). Thomas Tuchel sits down a lot on the bench and creates on his head, with a little too much strict instructions. I think it suits this Bayern more to be mobile and free in attack. They had a good start and good energy, looked like a game where they could bounce back from the loss at the weekend, but it didn’t turn out that way in the end.
Worth noting is that Bayern had 17 shots, but none on target. It is the first time in 13 games that they have lost against Italian opposition. The last time was against Inter in 2011 (3-2 at home).
Harry Kane was not terribly disappointed after the final whistle, but rather hopeful of a turnaround.
– It was a tough match. We started well and had our chances, but we didn’t take them. The second half was disappointing. We gave away too many balls and it was difficult to find back after their goal. Now we have to find the energy and self-confidence, he says.
Startelvor:
Lazio (4-3-3): Provedel; Marusic, Gila, Romagnoli, Hysaj; Guendouzi, Cataldi, Luis Alberto; Isaksen, Immobile, Anderson
Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1): Newer; Mazraoui, Kim, Dier, Guerreiro; Kimmich, Goretzka; Sané, Müller, Musiala; Kane
All matches in the Champions League are broadcast on TV4 Play.