Lazio Vs. Inter Milan: Lazio Go 1-0 Up On A Set Piece

Rafa Benitez has come out with some truly inventive tactics, but squad selection and formation do little to help your team on set pieces. Lazio looked dangerous from dead ball situations all game and they finally capitalized on a corner kick opportunity in the 26th minute.

Following the corner conceded by Ivan Cordoba, blocking Mauro Zarate’s shot, there was a serious scramble in the box resulting in the ball being put on target, forcing Luca Castellazzi into a save. The ball eventually fell to Giuseppe Biava who directed the ball into the goal with his stomach from only a couple of yards out to make it 1-0. Lazio deserved their goal after creating a good number of scoring opportunities in the early going, both from dead balls and from open play.

Rafa Benitez’s setup has not been a 4-4-2 diamond at all, but instead a 4-4-2/4-6-0 hybrid with both Goran Pandev and Wesley Sneijder operating as false nines. Esteban Cambiasso and Dejan Stankovic are playing as defensive midfielders while Sully Muntari and Jonathan Biabiany are playing wide. In this setup, it would be expected that Sneijder would play behind Pandev, but in fact neither has operated as a striker or a playmaker. They’re playing on about the same line with both of them dropping into the midfield as need be and neither of them pressuring the Lazio defense when Inter doesn’t have the ball. While Rafa should be commended for his creativity, his tactics haven’t exactly worked so far. This is evidenced not only by Lazio’s lead, but by shots, possession, and the amount of time that Lazio has had the ball in the attacking third. However, since the goal, Inter are playing much better and have had much more of the ball in their attacking third.