Well, that was a treat! Lazio and Empoli drew 3-3 in Rome in a match that simply had everything. The visitors were 2-0 ahead early on, Lazio came back. Empoli shocked Maurizio Sarri’s boys once again and even survived a late penalty, but were still punished by Serbian star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic deep in injury time. This was one of the best matches we’ve seen this season!Sarri is notorious for his brand of all-action football that’s often easy on the eye and pleasing for the neutrals, while it’s often less than efficient in terms of points and titles. It was that way while Napoli were playing ‘Sarriball’. The Neapolitans were scoring goals for fun, but a general lack of discipline often led to dropping points and producing nothing more but frustration. Well, these days, it’s Lazio fans who are enjoying football if not results.
Lazio goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha came flying out of his goal and took down Federico Di Francesco in the box, forcing the referee to point to the spot. Nedim Bajrami made it 1-0 with ease, giving the visitors a perfect start. It got even worse for Sarri’s men only two minutes later, when a ricocheted ball in the box fell to the feet of Szymon Zurkowski, who fired in to double the lead. Lazio were two goals behind just eight minutes in.Ciro Immobile halved the deficit with a header from a Sergej Milinkovic-Savic cross with less than a quarter-hour played. It was obvious that this would be a special game of football. Every attack looked likely to end in a goal for Lazio as chances came and went.
The pressure would finally tell in the 66th minute when Milinkovic-Savic found the net with a classy volley. At that point, the momentum was firmly with the hosts and it looked that they would complete the turnaround. However, Empoli struck to reclaim the lead 15 minutes before time, when left-back Riccardo Marchizza penetrated Lazio’s backline and squared for Di Francesco to tap in and shock the home crowd once more.The drama was far from over.Lazio appeared to equalise once again only moments later, however, after a lengthy, and indecisive VAR review, the goal was ruled out for a handball, meaning the home side would have to continue to chase the game. Stunningly, Lazio were awarded a penalty with just four minutes remaining in the match, however, Immobile was denied from the spot by a powerful Guglielmo Vicario save.Lazio come back TWICE to tie it vs Empoli, even with missing an 87th minute PK. 2022 really bringing the HEAT pic.twitter.com/V4xHDJv7mC— Italian Football TV (@IFTVofficial) January 6, 2022 The sky blues did not let this affect them though, as they continued to pile on the pressure and found an equaliser again, as Milinkovic-Savic rose highest in the box to power a header past Vicario to make it 3-3 in stoppage-time.The home draw in their first game back from the winter break will still leave a sour taste in the mouth of the Lazio fans, as their side missed a golden opportunity to climb into a European spot in the table.SERIE A – Round 20ThursdayBologna – Inter POSTPONEDAtalanta – Torino POSTPONEDSalernitana – Venezia POSTPONEDFiorentina – Udinese POSTPONEDSampdoria – Cagliari 1-2 (1-0)/Gabbiadini 18 – Deiola 55, Pavoletti 71/Lazio – Empoli 3-3 (1-2)/Immobile 14, Milinkovic-Savic 66, 90+3 – Bajrami 6 pen, Zurkowski 8, Di Francesco 75/Spezia – Verona 1-2 (0-0)/Erlic 85 – Caprari 59, 70/Sassuolo – Genoa20.30: (2.40) Milan (3.40) Roma (3.15)22.45: (1.70) Juventus (3.80) Napoli (5.70)***odds are subject to change