Lazio, tough lesson in England

Aston Villa-Lazio 3-0

Lazio came out with few certainties and a largely negative result from the Bescot Stadium in Walsall, England, where Aston Villa got the better of the Maurizio Sarri-coached team with a clear 3-0 win in one of the last preseason tests for the Biancocelesti.

As early as the 14th minute, the Villans had an opportunity to take the lead, but Ollie Watkins had a penalty kick awarded for a foul in the box by Romagnoli on Kamara saved by Provedel. It would be Watkins himself, however, who in the 37th minute put Unai Emery’s team up 1-0, the result with which the first half ended. In the second half, the round of substitutions again favored Aston Villa, which doubled the score with McGinn in the 55th minute and closed the accounts in the 85th minute, with Mario Gila’s own goal, who deflected a Revan cross into his own goal.

Sarri’s team took the field with a classic 4-3-3 with Provedel in goal, Lazzari, Casale, Romagnoli and Marusic in defense, Vecino, Cataldi and Basic in midfield, and Felipe Anderson, Immobile and Zaccagni on the offensive front. In the second half, however, Castellanos, Pedro, Marcos Antonio, Hysaj, Patric, Bertini, Maximiano, Mario Gila and Cancellieri took over.

Lazio will face Girona on Sunday, August 6 in a friendly. In the league it will instead face Lecce, away, on the first day, while in the next two rounds it will face Genoa at the Olimpico and Italian champion Napoli away at the ‘Maradona’.