Lazio ride out St-Étienne storm
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Article summary
Lazio 3-2 St-Étienne
Lucas Biglia's strike proved crucial as the Serie A side struggled to finish off their nine-man visitors in Group G.
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- Ogenyi Onazi cancels Moustapha Bayal Sall strike beforeRobert Berić is sent off
- Wesley Hoedt puts home side in front – his first Lazio goal
- Lucas Biglia gets Lazio's third against nine men after Sall's dismissal
- Substitute Kévin Monnet-Paquet's scores late chip as visitors go for broke
- Next games: Lazio v Rosenborg, Dnipro v St-Étienne (22 October)
Two red cards drained the fight out of St-Étienne as Lazio recovered from an early setback to stake a claim for one of the top spots in UEFA Europa League Group G.
Moustapha Bayal Sall may not have known much about St-Étienne's sixth-minute opener, the ball cannoning off his midriff and into the net as Romain Hamouma's corner squirmed into the box, but Les Verts initially did well to preserve their lead. Stéphane Ruffier produced a splendid diving save to flick Wesley Hoedt's header off the line.
Lazio looked fragile at the back, yet replied in the 22nd minute, Ogenyi Onazi slipping the ball inside Ruffier's far post after Stefano Mauri guided Felipe Anderson's ball from the right into his path. The dismissal of Robert Berić for a challenge which left Maurício with a bloody nose handed Lazio more momentum, and they would have led at the break had Mauri not clipped over the bar in added time.
They were a goal to the good three minutes after the restart, Hoedt flicking the ball into the net off the inside of the post after Lucas Biglia picked him out in the box. It was the Dutchman's first Lazio goal, and with St-Étienne down to nine men following Sall's 77th-minute dismissal, Biglia made it 3-1, turning in a loose ball. However, substitute Kévin Monnet-Paquet's lovely control and chip kept the visitors in the hunt to the end.
