Serie A | Lazio 2-1 Empoli: Pedro seals a fourth straight victory.

 

Lazio defeated Empoli for the first time, despite Taty Castellanos’ penalty being saved. Mattia Zaccagni and Pedro scored the winning goal.

The Biancocelesti were full of confidence after sitting top of the Europa League table with a spotless record and last week’s 3-2 Serie A triumph away to leaders Turin. Empoli remained undefeated this season despite losing Saba Sazanov, Tyronne Ebuehi, Samuele Perisan, Szymon Zurkowski, and Luca Belardinelli.

Check out the Liveblog to see how everything played out.

The Tuscans took a surprise lead in the Eternal City when Ivan Provedel fell on a Giuseppe Pezzella cross and was unable to recover in time to save Sebastiano Esposito’s header.

Boulaye Dia scuffed wide minutes later, and Devis Vasquez was almost taken aback by a clever Gustav Isaksen free kick, while the Empoli goalkeeper fought to tip a swerving Taty Castellanos rocket over the crossbar.

Things became worse for Lazio when Manuel Lazzari suffered a suspected femoral bicep injury while running down the touchline, pulling up on his own.

Nicolò Rovella’s slide-rule pass resulted to Isaksen’s angled drive that hit the far post. However, Lazio equalized late in the first half.

Nuno Tavares provided another assist, this time with a cross from the left that Zaccagni headed into the far top corner from 12 yards out. The former Arsenal player tallied five assists in as many games.

Lazio was awarded a penalty when Pezzella collided with Dia, but the referee reversed it after the advantage failed to develop. Castellanos attempted to blast it right down the center, but Vasquez parried with his legs, and the striker also headed the rebound off goal.

Pedro came off the bench to put Lazio ahead for the first time in the Europa League, only days after scoring a similar goal against OGC Nice. He sprung the offside trap on a Castellanos through pass and hit a rocket off the underside of the crossbar from a tight angle.

The hosts kept pushing for the win, but Vasquez stretched out a foot to parry from close range after Matteo Guendouzi sent Castellanos free, and Gaetano Castrovilli curled the rebound wide.

This was Lazio’s fourth consecutive victory across all competitions.

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