2023-11-28 22:45:13
Rome (AFP) – Lazio Rome trembled, but its captain Ciro Immobile, on the bench at the start of the match, ended up defeating Celtic Glasgow (2-0) and offering his team a ticket to the round of 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday.
Published on: 11/28/2023 – 11:45 p.m. Modified on: 11/28/2023 – 11:43 p.m.
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Maurizio Sarri’s poker move worked, perhaps not as he had imagined, but the Lazio coach won a crucial victory for his team, struggling in the league (11th).
To revive his attack, Sarri had chosen to completely modify it by leaving Immobile on the bench, preferring Valentín Castellanos, alongside Pedro and Gustav Isaksen.
If Castellanos was very discreet, Isaksen was the most prominent Roman player in a first period that Lazio dominated. But she only created one clear chance, on a cross from Matteo Guendouzi that Felipe Anderson headed home, narrowly missing the Scottish target.
After the break, Lazio shook for a good quarter of an hour when Celtic came out of their torpor, notably through Kyogo Furuhashi (48th).
The turning point of the match came in the 61st minute when Immobile came on to replace Castellanos.
The impact of the 33-year-old Italian international, who is having a complicated start to the season with only five goals scored so far, was not immediate, leaving the leading role to Isaksen, still very bleeding but lacking realism ( 60 and 73e).
“This shouldn’t happen.”
It was not until the last ten minutes that the top scorer in Lazio’s history liberated the Olympic Stadium, in two stages in the 82nd then in the 85th minute, each time on a serve from Isaksen.
“I did not experience my non-start as a sanction. When a team is going through a difficult period, your personal case takes second place,” assured Immobile.
Ciro Immobile, author of a double against Celtic in the Champions League in Rome, November 28, 2023 © Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP
“When I was on the bench, I just tried to see how I could help my team. We now need to find the enthusiasm in the league that we show in the Champions League,” he said. added.
“It’s quite incomprehensible and it shouldn’t happen,” regretted the co-holder of the goals record (36 in 2019-20) in a Serie A season.
Lazio, 2nd in Group E with 10 points, pocketed their ticket to the round of 16 thanks to the success later in the evening of Atletico Madrid in Rotterdam against Feyenoord (3-1).
Spaniards (1st, 11 pts) and Italians will compete for first place in the group on December 13 at Atletico.
Celtic have lost all hope, even of being transferred to the Europa League by finishing 3rd, and remain stuck in 4th and last place with one point.
© 2023 AFP
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