Lazio flies at Bentegodi: 3-0 to Verona, Juventus overtaken

Three key points for the race to Europe

Lazio flies to the Bentegodi, winning three more Champions points: 3-0 to Verona, in front of 25,747 spectators. Lotito rejoices, chews bitterly the new American owner, the Texas fund Presidio, at the "first" with Setti's Hellas. The pregame toast, in the Bentegodi grandstand, of the new full board of directors chaired by Italo Zanzi, did not go down well with Zanetti’s Gialloblù.

Dry and deserved defeat inflicted by the Lazio of the former Baroni to the Scaligeri. Lazio confirms itself as a Champions League reality with 39 points (again overtaking Juventus in fourth place), while Hellas, stuck at 19, would be virtually relegated if the championship ended with this 21st day. Next round: Lazio-Fiorentina (Jan. 26, 8:45 p.m.), Venezia-Verona (Jan. 27, 6:30 p.m.). 

First half. Lazio in the net after just two minutes. Sleeper on a corner, Gigot in the small area scores undisturbed, Verona-Lazio 0-1. Immediate Veronese reaction: Tengstedt fails to make it 1-1, kicking over Provedel on the way out. Romans masters the field, on Hellas falls the fog. Castellanos counterattacks, good for Montipò who angles the shot too much, ball wide. Hellas forwards are subdued by the Lazio rearguard. On the other front, Dia slips into the spaces left culpably free by the Scaligeri: Verona-Lazio 0-2 at 22'. At the Bentegodi echo the nightmares of the 5-0 inflicted by Inter. Booing rains down from the stands, directed at the Gialloblù team and its coach. The whistles wake up from the torpor the Hellas that tries, at the end of the half, to shorten the distance with Duda first (shot to the side), Tengstedt then (weak conclusion).

Second half. Verona on the attack, Lazio wait-and-see, ready to strike. And so it happens: a couple of missed chances by the Gialloblù forwards (Suslov’s stilted shot, Tengstedt’s center), then the usual defensive error that paves the way, this time, for former Zaccagni for the 3-0 Lazio lead that rhymes with 47 goals conceded by Hellas in this championship. Bradaric engages Provedel. Duda, double cautioned, leaves Verona in ten at 90's: he will miss the direct clash in Venice on Monday, June 27. Lazio controls, occasionally accelerates and, at the end, celebrates three more points in the Champions key.