Lazio 1-1 Inter Milan: 5 talking points and observations from the tense draw | Serie A 2020-21
In one of the key clashes of the weekend in Serie A, Inter Milan and Lazio played out a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico. In a chaotic night in Rome, both teams were shown one straight red card apiece. Lazio's Ciro Immobile was sent off in the 69th minute following an altercation with Inter Milan's Arturo Vidal, while Inter Milan's Sensi was red carded after he shoved Lazio's Patric in the 86th minute.
Lazio suffered an early blow in the game as defender Ștefan Radu pulled a hamstring in the 16th minute and was replaced by Bastos who himself had to be replaced in the second half after a collision with Lukaku.
Lautaro Martinez broke the deadlock for Inter Milan in the 30th minute with a brilliant finish, while Sergej Milinkovic-Savic equalised with an equally impressive header in the 55th minute.
The game had a lot of positives for both sides, as they both significantly improved their defences, and apart from the controversy in the second half, it was a well-deserved point for each team.
Here we take a look at the five talking points from the game.
#5 Injury woes for Lazio
Simone Inzaghi was forced into making an early substitution after defender Stefan Radu pulled a hamstring in the 16th minute following a clearance at the back. He had been struggling with the issue for some time and should not have started the game in the first place.
Adam Marušić too had to be taken out in the 35th minute. An injury crisis in the last campaign had seen derailed their title challenge back in February, so they need to be careful with their selection going forward.
What was even more unfortunate is that Bastos, who came on for the Romanian defender, picked up a knock after a collision with Romelu Lukaku and had to be taken out as a precaution in the second half, which meant they played the final 45 minutes of the game with a midfielder in Marco Parolo playing at the heart of the three-man defence.
#4 Lautaro Martinez shows his class
Inter Milan looked a bit sloppy in the early stages of the game, both in attack and defence. They had a few chances going ahead but Lazio's back three kept Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez in check. After Radu was substituted, the visitors started making some inroads into the final third.
The Inter Milan wingbacks Ivan Perisic and Achraf Hakimi made great use of the width and finally it was Perisic's mazy run that led to the Argentine forward finding the ball at his feet 12 yards out and he made no mistake in dispatching it home and he did so in quite some style.
It was the 23-year-old's third goal in as many games and will be key player for them as they look to mount a title challenge this season as well.
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