The Champions League qualifier prize for 3rd position now looks to be between 4 sides, as Lazio lose, Roma win while Udinese and Napoli share the spoils.
Lazio coach Edy Reja had urged his players to bounce back from last Sunday’s 3-1 defeat to Bologna as they faced Serie A’s surprise ticket, Catania, on Sunday. A win would help the Biancoceleste cement their grip on third place as their two closest rivals, Udinese and Napoli, faced each other and so one or both sides would lose points.
Last week’s defeat by Bologna was Lazio’s first league loss at the Olimpico since November but with Udinese surprisingly losing at second-from-bottom Novara, Edy Reja knew they had gotten away lightly.
“The only positive is that we are still third,” Reja said. “But we played badly. We accept the criticisms and try to improve at Catania.”
“We just have to focus on ourselves,” Reja said. “We need to get as many points as possible and we cannot have the wrong approach.
“It’s difficult to get points at Catania but if my team reacts in a positive way then I’m convinced we can bring home three points.”
Despite their eighth place position before the game, Catania have been very pragmatic about their primary aim for the season, namely retention of their Serie A status. The Sicilian side went into the game two points away from reaching the 40-point mark, a figure deemed sufficient to retain their place in the top flight.
“We take on Lazio ready to claim a win in order to get to our first aim, that of defending our Serie A status,” goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo said.
“We know it’s going to be hard because Lazio play well but we are ready.
Lazio went into the game without suspended midfielders Francelino Matuzalem and Alvaro Gonzalez and their loss would prove costly as former Juventus defender Nicola Legrottaglie grabbed Catania’s winner following a corner 11 minutes from time to shoot Vincenzo Montella’s flying Sicilians up to joint-sixth following the encounter.
Such performances have meant that Catania coach Vincenzo Montella is being linked to positions up and down the peninsula and the Roma hierarchy must be questioning their decision not to give their former player and caretaker coach the full-time position ahead of Luis Enrique.
Certainly Montella is able to poke fun at the situation. “If I was in the Spaniard’s shoes at Roma, the club would have sent me back to commenting on games for television by now,” he said.
The 37-year-old has been suggested as one of the strongest candidates to assume the reins at San Paolo should Walter Mazzarri leave the club at the end of the season.
“It is too soon to talk about this, I have a contract with Catania and Napoli have a great coach,” L’Aeroplanino told Rai Sport.
“Right now, this is fantasy football, but it would be nice to take up such a project in the city where I was born and where my family lives.”
Montella will get to audition in person for any future vacancy as he takes his Catania side to the San Paolo this Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Lazio coach Edy Reja was sent off for excessive protests during the Catania match and the Football League’s sporting judge on Tuesday imposed a one-day ban on Reja for, as he explained: “…having contested the referee in the 48th minute of the second half, despite repeated warnings, for having additionally been disrespectful to match officials, being on the field until the end of the match.”
That Lazio loss meant that both Udinese and Napoli were in a position to go above the Roman side into the Champions League qualifying round if one of them could emerge victorious at Udinese’s Stadio Friuli later that day.
Napoli were seeking a sixth consecutive league win, but that feat looked improbable after Giampiero Pinzi and Antonio Di Natale put the hosts in charge. The Partenopei were given hope following Diego Fabbrini’s red card – and duly took advantage when Edinson Cavani made amends for missing a penalty by netting twice in the remaining nine minutes.
Udinese also kept the Football League’s sporting judge busy as their coach Francesco Guidolin was sent off and was subsequently fined €3,000 “for having challenged a referee’s decision at the 37th minute of the second half and by being disrespectful of a match official.” while striker Antonio Floro Flores was given a two-match ban for insulting a linesman after the game.
Those set of results meant that only 1 point would separate Lazio, Napoli and Udinese and with all three dropping points, Luis Enrique’s Roma had an opportunity to close the gap when the Giallorossi played Genoa at the Olimpico on the Monday night. Osvaldo’s second-minute strike proved decisive and meant that Genoa are now without a win in six games.
The 1-0 victory means that Roma are now just four points behind third-placed city rivals Lazio but Enrique understands that bridging the gap won’t be easy: “There are 10 games remaining but we still have to face Udinese and Napoli, who are both ahead of us in the table.
“It’s going to be very difficult because Lazio and Udinese have always been ahead of us in the standings this season.”
He added: “We have shown signs of improvement. But in a tournament like this, in order to win you need consistency.
“The standings say we are sixth and we don’t deserve to be any higher.”
Roma face a difficult away trip this weekend as they face AC Milan at the San Siro. After making up some ground last weekend, the pressure will be on the Giallorossi to sustain their momentum with a positive results – anything less and four may become three in the race for third.
Results:
Parma 0-2 AC Milan, Fiorentina 0-5 Juventus, Cagliari 3-0 Cesena, Bologna 2-2 Chievo Verona, Catania 1-0 Lazio, Inter 0-0 Atalanta, Lecce 1-1 Palermo, Siena 0-2 Novara, Udinese 2-2 Napoli, AS Roma 1-0 Genoa
Fixtures:
Saturday, March 24
AC Milan v AS Roma
Palermo v Udinese
Sunday, March 25
Atalanta v Bologna
Cesena v Parma
Chievo Verona v Siena
Genoa v Fiorentina
Lazio v Cagliari
Napoli v Catania
Novara v Lecce
Juventus v Inter
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ podcast – listen to the latest episode now!
