Lazio 4 – Cagliari 1

By: salvatore | September 1st, 2008

So…how was your Sunday?

Ours, yeah, not too bad.

In case you missed it (and I wouldn’t blame you considering the lack of streams), the Biancoceleste took a gigantic crap all over Sardinian pretenders Cagliari, overcoming a 1-0 deficit to win comfortably by three goals. Beating Cagliari isn’t much to get excited about, I mean let’s be honest, they’re practically a Serie B team, but can you think of a better way to start a season? I can’t, especially when you consider how the game began.

Firstly, there seemed to be some confusion over what kind of formation the team was playing exactly. Was it a 4-4-2? A 4-3-2-1? Your guess is as good as mine. Secondly, we had a truly baffling midfield lineup chosen by Delio. Let’s see, Brocchi starting on the right only days after arriving from Milan? Check. Stefano Mauri playing as a winger on the left? Double check. Unsurprisingly, both players were pretty close to terrible in the first half, with Brocchi eventually making way for the much more effective Pasquale Foggia (who scored one and assisted on another).

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, the team fell behind by a goal on the road. Last year, a situation like that would have been a death sentence (sad but true). Our away form was absolutely atrocious, which was partly due to the fact that there were just too many injuries to deal with, but also because of the lack of any real offensive options sitting on the bench. Well, if yesterday was any indication, this year will be different, mostly because of the aforementioned Foggia.

In just one half, the Napoli-born winger gave something of a summary of everything good and bad about him. Clearly, he’s a constant threat to opposing teams, with tons of pace, energy and creativity. The trouble is that he’s also a bit of a mess on the defensive end, which is obviously a liability. Rossi may be right in rationing out his playing time, but then again, his entry at halftime changed the game (even if Mauri’s move to his more natural central position also played a role)…

Probably the most noteworthy aspect of the game though was the performance of Mauro Zarate. If you had any doubts about The Zarate Kid’s ability to adapt to Serie A, you can forget ‘em. The kid can play alright, and he’s also looking very comfortable alongside Pandev…a partnership that will only get better once Balboa returns to read Goran’s mind and finish his sentences. Zarate ended up with two goals in his league debut, one off a penalty, and the other a calm, collected flick over the keeper after a god-awful defensive giveaway by Cagliari.

Looking at it objectively, we can say that the scoreline was probably a bit flattering, with the team taking advantage of a handball in the box (and its resulting red card) to completely take over the game in the second half. The real challenge, and possibly the real indicator of how good the team really is, will come with the next three league games (Samp, Milan and Fiorentina). If Lazio can get through those three tough matches without dropping too many points, we might truly be in for a good season.

In the meantime, let’s just enjoy a great start to the year.

Here are the highlights: