Lazio 1-0 Bayern: Immobile penalty gives hosts slender lead

Ciro Immobile converted a second-half penalty after Dayot Upamecano was sent off to give Lazio a first-leg victory at home to Bayern in their UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg.

Match in brief: Immobile spot on for Lazio

Ciro Immobile continued his prolific form at home in the competitionGetty Images

A tight contest turned on a coolly taken Ciro Immobile spot kick, the Lazio captain slotting in 24 minutes after the break in Rome. That came after Gustav Isaksen had entered the penalty area as part of a sharp Lazio counterattack, Dayot Upamecano bringing the winger down at the cost of a straight red card and a chance Immobile accepted to score the winner.

The hosts had earned their reward for a compact first-half performance, threatening when Luis Alberto whistled a shot wide but feeling relief when Leroy Sané went close courtesy of a clever free-kick routine with the restored Thomas Müller.

Jamal Musiala could not muster an accurate finish at the end of a delightful passing sequence by Bayern, who pushed for a late equaliser but ended without a shot on target. The six-time champions will be certain this tie is far from settled, however.

PlayStation® Player of the Match: Matteo Guendouzi (Lazio)

"Really good with and without the ball. He always had clear ideas when in possession."
UEFA Technical Observer panel

Francesco Corda, Lazio reporter

Lazio were able to suffer in the first half, when Bayern were largely on top but failed to score, and they hit a valuable goal of their own thanks to a penalty won by Isaksen and converted by Immobile, their skipper. Against a team down to ten men because of Upamecano's dismissal, Felipe Anderson even threatened to double the advantage late on. Lazio can savour a great night, although it will not be easy to defend this lead in the return on 5 March.

James Thorogood, Bayern reporter

Under pressure to deliver a positive performance, Bayern instead experienced a night when little went their way. The aim for the German record title holders was to get beyond the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time in four seasons, but now they need to overturn a narrow first-leg deficit just to reach that stage of the competition. The six-time Champions League winners will back themselves on home soil, though, having avoided defeat there in this competition since April 2021.

Reaction 

Bayern top scorer Harry Kane sent an early chance over the crossbarUEFA via Getty Images

Maurizio Sarri, Lazio coach: "It is the victory of application, of moments of suffering. There is satisfaction because we beat one of the strongest teams in Europe, but also regret because the scoreline could have been bigger. I liked the compactness and spirit of the team; we moved with one brain and that is important. We knew there would be difficult moments but also opportunities, and we took one."

Thomas Tuchel, Bayern coach: "We're frustrated and angry about the defeat. I think we lost the game, I'm not sure Lazio won it. I'm not sure why we lost our conviction in the second half, but we did and then we fell behind. I can't explain it because we told the team to maintain their intensity and be even braver going forward, but we seemed to lose face at the start of the half.

Key stats

• Lazio have lost one of their last 13 UEFA club competition matches at home (W7 D5).
• Maurizio Sarri's side have kept ten clean sheets in their last 12 home matches in all competitions.
• This was only their second win in eight games against German teams, having lost five times along the way.
• Ciro Immobile has scored eight goals in his last eight Champions League home appearances for his side.
• Bayern had lost one of their previous 17 Champions League matches, winning 13 times.
• The German side had lost one of their previous 20 matches at this stage (W14) and had not lost the first leg in their last 11 round of 16 ties.

Fantasy star performers

Mario Gila: 8 points
Matteo Guendouzi: 8 points

Line-ups

Lazio: Provedel; Marušić, Romagnoli, Mario Gila (Patric 81), Hysaj (Lazzari 60); Guendouzi, Cataldi, Luis Alberto (Kamada 81); Isaksen (Pedro Rodríguez 74), Immobile (Castellanos 74), Felipe Anderson

Bayern: Neuer; Mazraoui, Upamecano, Kim, Guerreiro; Kimmich, Goretzka (De Ligt 73); Sané (Tel 81), Müller (Choupo-Moting 81), Musiala; Kane