Can Lazio go on a serious Serie A title race? 🤔 | ESPN FC
Can Lazio go on a serious Serie A title race?
This ESPN FC segment discusses the latest Serie A results, focusing on Como's draw with Roma, Lazio's surprise rise to the top, AC Milan's teething problems and Juventus's attacking wastefulness. The guest sees Lazio's start as remarkable but possibly unsustainable, while Milan and Juventus remain works in progress.
- Como will be disappointed not to have beaten Roma despite playing most of the second half with an extra man. — Roma were down to 10 men for much of the second half, yet Como could not turn that advantage into a win and missed a chance to gain ground.
- Como not beating Roma actually says something about their progress, but the game was disappointing; Roma played well and largely nullified Como, and playing 11 against 10 can sometimes be harder. — Roma performed well and limited Como's threat; playing with an extra man is not always straightforward and can sometimes make things harder.
- Lazio's 3-1 win over Monza was expected, but Lazio being top after such a turbulent summer transfer window is not; the coach has them fighting above their paper level, though it may not last against stronger opponents. — The summer transfer window dissatisfied fans, with anger at owner Lotito and ultras boycotting home games; Lazio let many players go and replaced them with seemingly lesser ones, so their current position is incredible.
- AC Milan's 1-1 draw shows the project is very much a work in progress; they are still learning the coach's system and lack the right pieces, so the whole is not greater than the sum of its parts. — Players such as Rabiot and Modric do not look suited to the two-man midfield in front of a back three; Milan have plenty of possession but rank near the bottom for final-third entries, do not play vertically and rely on individual quality.
- Juventus are showing progress under Spalletti, but they fall apart in the final third because their strikers are not prolific enough; injuries and bad luck have also held them back, so they are far from where the coach wants them. — They created and missed big chances, including a remarkable close-range miss and an effort off the woodwork; the front line lacks a reliable scorer, and the team's overall level remains short of Spalletti's target.
On ESPN FC, Craig Burley, Gabriele Marcotti and Stevie Nicol join Dan Thomas to discuss the biggest storylines surrounding Serie A including the teams at the top of the standings. ✔️ Subscribe to ESPN Unlimited: https://plus.espn.com/ ESPN ESPNFC
Transcript
land disappointed not being able to maintain that lead. Looking at the results elsewhere and certainly the standout one from earlier today nil Roma nil Roma played much of the second half with just 10 men would be sent off. Uh so in remain top of the table after their win yesterday Latio second after that victory. Roma missing out on the chance to go level on points with them both with that nil nil draw against Ko. And for more on that let's welcome in Gab Marcosi. Gab let's start with that early game shall we? in combo against Roma. The host will be disappointed in fact actually not to have made the most of playing much that second half with an extra man. >> Yeah, it's amazing. We we we talk about Ko. It speaks to where they've gotten to that that they feel disappointed that they couldn't they couldn't beat Roma. Um I I thought the game was actually a little bit disappointing. Maybe that's also what happens certainly at 111. Um, I thought Roma played played really well and and and largely nullified uh the the threat of Kuo. Then Daniel Maron um he's going to be a little bit annoyed that that he was sent off. Um and yeah, Seth said it was a missed opportunity against us. You know, it's the old cliche sometimes playing 11v10 can actually be more difficult. >> Yes, Stevie, take that. Meanwhile, >> Latia continuing their good start to the season. Dad, an expected win today. >> Uh, yeah, an expected win 3-1 over over Monza. But what's not expected is Lazio freaking top of the table with with Reno Gatuzo as their coach uh after a summer transfer window which dissatisfied everybody with the fans absolutely hating on the owner Lotito and uh the Kurva often deserting home games and boycotting games. Um it's pretty incredible how in the midst of all this adversity you know maybe it is true that you know um uh you know things grow very well in manure um something incredible is happening at their top of the table. Uh actually that's not my line. One of the Latio players said that recently. Uh you know they hold they they just let so many guys go they replace them with guys on paper were supposed to be lesser players. Um but there they are. Gatuzo has them fighting. Uh again, I certainly uh would never have expected this. Let's see if it lasts once they play some tougher opponents, mind you. >> Uh meanwhile, Milan with a 1-1 draw against a Swallow. Obviously, they took the lead and didn't last very long. Uh it's kind of where we're at, isn't it, with Milan at the moment. Yeah, there's a whole bunch of of of of stats and nerd analytics that kind of tell you where Milan are right now, which is that um and United fans might find this a little bit familiar. They're still learning Amarine's system and they don't quite have the right pieces to to make it work. Gee, who would have thought that, you know, guys like Rabio and uh and Luca Modric when he plays that that you know, maybe they're not exactly suited to be the two guys in front of the back three. Um, look, uh, it's it's it's very much a work in progress. We've, to Amarim's credit, he's he's shown belief in in some younger players. He's tried new things. Um, but the fact of the matter is they're not playing well. They're incredibly inefficient. They rank near the bottom of the league in in terms of sort of uh uh entries in the in the final third despite having a ton of kind of pretty fruitless possession. Um they don't go vertical. They don't you know and and when they do win and play well and we saw that a little bit with the Rabio goal or or Pulis's performance before the break. It's often down to the fact that they have some really good individual players. Um but yeah, in terms of Amarine making the whole greater the sum of its parts, we ain't seeing that. >> You talk about Latio being a surprise of the season. Carrier obviously are as well. They remain unbeaten after a one-1 draw today against Juventus, but Juventus had so many chances in this game, Gab. >> Yeah, kind of disappointing that um we we didn't get to see the highlights because Randall Kanani with another kind of miss of the century contender. um probably won't hurt him as much as the one that he missed in the uh 2022 uh World Cup final against uh against Argentina. Um but this one, you're just not going to want to see this one again. Somehow shanks the ball off his ankle from from literally three yards out and the goalkeeper beaten. Um and then they also hit the woodwork and Voltada came in and did what Voltada does. Um really frustrating day. Luchano Spalleti not happy uh somehow got into some kind of altercation with the Kaji coach Pizakane after the game. You can see progress from Juventus and and I'm not a Juv fan but or a Spleti fan but I have to give him credit. you can see progress kind of until the final third and then it's kind of all falls apart because you happen to have people playing up front for you uh like Volto, like Kamani who simply aren't particularly prolific um strikers and you know chucked it in with the injuries they've had, Kennan Yield and whatever else and this team is far from where Spleti wants it to be. And on top of that, I think they've also been unlucky in in several situations as well.