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Frosinone 1-2 Lazio: Aquile End Pre-Season With Perfect Record
At the Stadio Benito Stirpe, Lazio won their sixth and final summer friendly, beating their hosts Frosinone by two goals to one.
Lazio Starting Lineup
Gennaro Gattuso unleashed what was arguably his best available starting lineup. Boulaye Dia led the 4-3-3 formation, flanked by Matteo Cancellieri and Mattia Zaccagni. In midfield, Nicolo Rovella operated between Kenneth Taylor and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, while the backline was constituted of Adam Marusic, Danilho Doekhi, Oliver Provstgaard, and Alfonso Pedraza, with Christos Mandas in goal.
Frosinone Scores Comical Opener
The home side took a surprising lead in the 12th minute, and it all stemmed from a bizarre goal kick played short. Provstgaard tried to drive the ball forward but was cheaply dispossessed. The Frosinone players swarmed forward and tried their luck at first through Ilias Koutsoupias. Christos Mandas made an unconvincing save, while Antonio Raimondo hit the post on the rebound.
While the ball was heading out, Rovella insisted on keeping it in play, only to gift the Canarini a third straight chance. Although Giacomo Calo’s effort was tame, it somehow evaded Mandas and crept into the net.
Mattia Zaccagni Restores Parity
After a forgettable 22 minutes, Lazio scored their first genuine chance of the game. Marusic pushed forward and delivered a cross to the box. Dia rose to meet it, but it was just high. Nevertheless, Zaccagni was right behind him. The skipper was able to connect with the ball, and while he couldn’t put too much power behind it, he made sure it landed in the corner, leaving the goalkeeper stranded.
Zaccagni almost followed it up with an assist, picking up Cancellieri with a sublime cross, but his teammate’s header sailed wide. At the opposite end of the pitch, Frosinone almost retook the lead when Seydou Fini stormed the box and skipped past Doekhi, but he couldn’t beat Mandas from a tight angle.
Zaccagni Completes Brace With Late Spot-Kick
After the break, the two sides took the gloves off, as the contest looked more like a competitive fixture between two local rivals than a friendly played among neighbors. The two sets of players repeatedly engaged in heated arguments and spats, while goal-scoring opportunities almost vanished.
In the final 10 minutes of the game, Gattuso raised eyebrows with an unexpected tactical change when he brought on Alessio Romagnoli for Taylor, thus switching to a 3-4-3 formation. Nevertheless, this tweak paid off, as Manuel Lazzari, who operated as a right wing-back, cleverly skipped past Alessio Zerbin, prompting the latter to drop him down inside the penalty box.
The referee pointed to the spot, and Zaccagni sent the goalkeeper the opposite direction to net his second of the evening.
In the final minute of added time, Zerbin had a golden chance to redeem himself when a cross reached him after escaping the crowd. The winger connected with his knee, but Mandas was able to gather it. The game thus ended with a 2-1 win for Lazio in front of their travelling supporters, who made their voices heard all evening.
After completing their pre-season friendlies, the real action will begin next Sunday for the Biancocelesti, who will host Mantova in the opening round of the Coppa Italia.
Frosinone 1-2 Lazio
Goalscorers: 12′ Calò (F), 22′ – 90′ Zaccagni (L)
Frosinone (4-3-3): Palmisani; Amey (46′ Oyono), Calvani (60′ Akpiguma), Monterisi (60′ Akpougma), Bracaglia (73′ Corrado); Koutsoupias, Calò, Cichella (60′ El Azzouzi); Kvernadze (60′ Zerbin), Raimondo, Fini (73′ Gelli).
Lazio (4-3-3): Mandas; Marusic (67′ Floriani Mussolini), Doekhi, Provstgaard, Pedraza (79′ Lazzari); Dele-Bashiru (84′ Belahyane), Rovella, Taylor (79′ Romagnoli); Cancellieri (67′ Noslin), Dia (67′ Ratkov), Zaccagni.
Referee: Domenico Mirabella; Linesmen: Orazio Nicodemo – Gabriele Federico; Fourth official: Giosuè Ambrosino
Yellow Cards: 34′ Bracaglia (F), 53′ Oyono (F), 57′ Cancellieri (L), 67′ Akpoguma (F), 70′ Floriani Mussolini (L).
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