Lazio 4 - 5 stolyca (392484799)

28810 spectators arrived at Lazio Łódź Arena, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Anders Larsson was the appointed referee with assistance provided by 林 (Lin) 归达 (Guida) and Jan Alexandersson. Lazio tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Schrijvers - Kasperkiewicz, Zajan, Giroud - Halemba, Niedziołka, Kielian, Spampinato, Lewicki - De Stefani, Borro.

A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for stolyca. Lineup: Wallander - ten Brinke, Tomczykiewicz, Ben-Ami - Chamot, Ihlow, Marciak, Artakis, Maaref - Piskorz, Gulczyński.

Lazio used their ability to concentrate their attacks in the middle of the pitch, rather than on the wings. stolyca mostly ignored the flanks in favour of their ability to attack in the middle. Some great play up the middle by Lazio led to a chance for N. Giroud to score after 14 minutes, but the shot hit the crossbar. Lazio's M. Spampinato tried to break through in the middle repeatedly, but couldn't get past the visitors' defenders. Lazio had a good opportunity to take the lead as N. Giroud came up the left side, but he struck the ball weakly and it went straight into the arms of A. Wallander. Lazio's A. Niedziołka got himself booked for a foul. It was obvious that team stolyca had instructions to attack in the middle instead of on the wings. A mistake by the home side's central defence after 27 minutes allowed O. Ben-Ami to score for stolyca. The scoreboard now read 0 - 1. 0 - 1 was the score after the first half. Lazio enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 57 percent of possession.

The referee showed stolyca's O. Artakis the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. stolyca were determined to attack in the middle, even their wing attacks ended up centrally. After 83 minutes, stolyca's lack of experience resulted in the team's loss of their edge at the end of the game. A. Piskorz was, after 84 minutes, almost able to extend the visitors' lead with a well placed diving header after the ball had looped into the centre, but the home side's keeper M. Schrijvers made the save. With 85 minutes having been played, Lazio scored to make it 1 - 1. A dribble down the left wing, followed by a shot which took a wicked bounce off a defender resulted in the keeper having no chance. Everyone thought it'd been an own goal, but D. Halemba was marked down as the scorer. Lazio had most of the ball, with 57 percent of possession.

Still tied after 90 minutes, the match continued into extra time. During the break, stolyca's coach went through the team's tactics yet again, getting them up to excellent organisation. Lazio players heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their wing attacks to the middle instead. The result was still a draw, so the match had to be settled with penalties.

Lazio's M. Kasperkiewicz showed he has nerves of steel when it comes to penalties, easily changing the score to 2 - 1. stolyca's A. Marciak coolly put the ball past M. Schrijvers. 2 - 2. Lazio's J. Lewicki was relaxed as he smoothly put the ball in the net. 3 - 2! stolyca's O. Artakis made no mistake. M. Schrijvers didn't have a chance. 3 - 3. Lazio's D. Halemba kept his cool as he faced down A. Wallander. His composure paid off as he scored easily for 4 - 3. stolyca's F. Maaref looked like he knew exactly where he wanted to put the ball, but unfortunately his shot went wide of the left hand post. Still 4 - 3. Lazio's A. Niedziołka penalty shot was very well placed but A. Wallander went the right way, blocking it spectacularly. The score was still 4 - 3. Oooh - how unlucky! stolyca's S. Ihlow attempt hit the underside of the bar, but rebounded down into the grateful arms of M. Schrijvers. The score stays 4 - 3. A confident N. Giroud of Lazio put the ball right where he wanted, but A. Wallander was right there for the save. No goal. stolyca's A. Piskorz made no mistake. M. Schrijvers didn't have a chance. 4 - 4. Lazio's J. Kielian didn't look like he was confident as he stepped up, and produced a badly struck penalty - right into the arms of A. Wallander. The score remained 4 - 4. The crowd was awed by H. Chamot's finely placed shot for stolyca making it 4 - 5. A. Niedziołka performed admirably for Lazio. M. Kasperkiewicz was a disappointment, however. Most important stolyca player was O. Artakis. A. Wallander turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 4 - 5.