Stalemate sufficient for Lazio
Thursday, October 3, 2002
Article summary
Xanthi FC 0-0 S.S. Lazio (Agg: 0-4) Enrico Chiesa's return the silver lining for Lazio in Greece.
Article body
Second yellow card
The Serie A side had defender Francesco Colonnese sent off after 37 minutes for a second bookable offence but still never looked like conceding against their Greek hosts.
Chiesa returns
Lazio welcomed Enrico Chiesa back into their starting lineup after a year's absence through injury but even he was unable to break the deadlock.
Manfredini menace
Missing nine first-team regulars through injury and absence, Lazio were largely happy to sit back and defend, but Chiesa was involved after just nine minutes, combining with Simone Inzaghi to set up Christian Manfredini, whose effort grazed the post and skimmed wide.
Marchegiani save
Xanthi's first effort of note came after 14 minutes when Stavros Lampriakos's strike was turned behind by Luca Marchegiani in the Lazio goal.
Colonnese off
The home side were given hope when Colonnese was sent off after two challenges in the space of three minutes, but they struggled to make their numerical superiority tell. Indeed, Lazio came closest to scoring at the start of the second half, when Manfredini sent a shot crashing against the crossbar.
Late chance
The nearest the home side got to grabbing a goal was when Jürgen Leitner's shot flew just over the crossbar in added time at the end of the second half, and Lazio were left to celebrate a place in the second round as well as the return of one of their finest players to European action.