Despite having 2 Italian scudetto, the last one in 2000, and few other domestic cups, Lazio has not made a big impact in Serie A for a few years. Under new management and former glory, Simone Inzaghi, on the sideline things have changed for better. They have won the super cup once and 2 more Italian cups in the last few years.
This past season, Lazio was the team that was going toe to toe with current champions, Juventus, until Covid-19 happened and the team did not perform as well after the break.
Here, we are going to present a breakdown of Lazio's performance against high and low ranking teams according to the last campaign end classification table.
The games observed
High ranking teams - Juventus, Inter, Napoli, and Roma
Low ranking teams - Sampdoria, Bologna, Fiorentina, and Genoa
Simeone Inzaghi has favored a 1-3-5-2 for the majority of the campaign - 28 times
Lazio has won 75% of the matches observed
6 Wins, 1 Draw, 1 Loss
Lazio's performance clearly tells they are an attacking threat as they score a lot of goals with not many shots attempts. They have scored 16 goals in the matches observed.
Also, Lazio 3 most played areas show that they play more in the central defending third(first phase of play) while targeting a more central midfield are to connect with a wide area, which is predominately the left side of the midfield.
Last, Lazio's performance, in general, seems to drop by the second half as they favor a more direct mentality while still scoring as much in the few chances they create.
As it was mentioned above, Lazio's playmaking events have decreased in the second halves while having fewer shots.
One of the reasons for Lazio's success before the Covid-19 break was Luis Alberto's classy displays. He averaged 57.6 passes per game this season as well as assisting 15 times... Only beat by Papu Gomez (Atalanta).
Do we need further introductions to the Striker of 19-20 season? 36 goals in 36 matches for the Serie A. Alongside Luis Alberto, Immobile was instrumental for Lazio's fine campaign while averaging almost 4 shots per game.
Below we have Lazio's offensive organization
1-3-5-2 formation with 1 CB inside the box and the other 2 at the edge of the box to start the first phase of the build-up. Then 1 CM drops to offer a solution while the 2 Wide midfielders open wide. Left and right CM's close to the midfield to provide a link to Wide midfielders and CB's. The 2 Forwards not too far from CM so they can play between the Midfield and Defenders lines.
Lazio defends in a 1-5-3-2 while alternating to a 1-4-4-2 and a 1-4-3-2-1 depending on the opposition's offensive organization as we can see below.
Above it is clear that Lazio performs much better against lower strength sides than higher ones. Also, Lazio plays 8% more in the left wide side of the midfield against lower-ranked opposition than they would against high-ranked opposition.
Above we can clearly see how performances against low-ranked teams are far superior to performances against higher-ranked teams.
Looking at the radar chart above, we can see that Lazio performances the best against weaker opposition in the second half.
Lazio keeps a 1-5-3-2 shape while defending against stronger opposition in the second half, and their lower performance level against stronger opposition creates a false impression that they perform generally better in the first halves.
Here we have the 2 styles of Lazio's attacking set-pieces and their outcome. Lazio goes for a direct shot and alternatively has a several 1v1's at the edge of the box running forward while the taker delivers a cross into the box.
Lazio also has 2 variations for the attacking corners. 1st is either a short pass or a long pass into the edge of the area followed by a through ball into the box or a cross into the box. 2nd is a direct cross while 1v1's occur in the box. In this one, players run and pull defenders out of the area so a central player appears unmarked.
In defending set-pieces, Lazio leaves a wall of 2v1's and maintains 1 player at the edge of the box and 1 or 2 players close to the taker.
Lazio defends their corners by having a wall of 2v1 in front of the GK, several 1v1's in a wall plus a 2v1, a 1v1 outside the box, and another player marking an opposition passing option.
Recommended sessions for playing out from the back according to Lazio's build-up philosophy.
Session 1- Mini goals & mannequins:
GK plays to either FB’s or CB’s
Only FB’s allowed on wide areas
Mannequins to block passing lanes
The ball goes to CM’s or FW so they can finish in the small goals.
Session 2- Full-size pitch divided into thirds and 3 channels
GK has to play out and the team moving the ball up to the third before scoring
Progress into full pitch into thirds
Quickplay - Accurate passes - Awareness - Positive 1st touch - Intelligent movement - Creative play - Combination play - Play between lines
Recommended sessions for defending as a team according to Lazio's philosophy.
Prevent the team in possession to play out from the back
Session 1: Prevent build-up(midfield and attacking third)
2 players allowed into the wide areas
Box the midfield concept
Session 2: Defend as a team
Keep a 1-5-3-2 shape while defending
Shuffle quickly - Force to wide areas - compactness - Agility- Recovery runs - communication
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