On the eighth matchday of the Serie A campaign, Lazio extended their extraordinary run by beating Parma at home.
Gennaro Gattuso opted to keep the same starting lineup that prevailed in Turin over Juventus last weekend . Therefore, Tijjani Noslin spearheaded the 4-3-3 formation, flanked by Mattia Zaccagni and Gustav Isaksen. In the middle of the park, Reda Belahyane worked between Kenneth Taylor and Davide Frattesi.
Christos Mandas started in goal as usual, while Romano Floriani Mussolini, Josip Sutalo, Oliver Provstgaard, and Nuno Tavares formed the backline.
While the first half ended goalless, either side could have taken the lead. Parma almost broke the deadlock in the opening minutes when Taylor turned into trouble and was dispossessed by David Romero, who drove the ball forward, but Mandas blocked the shot with his foot.
The Greek custodian then pulled off another sensational save on El Bilal Toure, who headed the ball towards the far corner after meeting Emanuele Valeri's cross.
Player Ratings: Lazio 2-1 Parma – Belahyane & Taylor Run The Show
At the other end of the pitch, Frattesi insisted he should have won Lazio a penalty kick after escaping Mariano Triolo, who chased him down and brought him down inside the penalty box, but the referee waved play on, and the VAR decided not to intervene.
For his part, Isaksen was extremely unlucky not to score a goal. The Danish winger received a delicate cross from Zaccagni and headed it past Edoardo Corvi, but was denied by the woodwork. At the end of the first half, Noslin's inch-perfect through ball found Isaksen, who beat Dominik Drobnic for pace and placed his shot past the goalkeeper, but the goal was ruled out for a marginal offside.
After the break, the Biancocelesti swiftly found the breakthrough. Belahyane tried to pick up Zaccagni between the Parma defenders, but Diego Carlos blocked it. However, Taylor was in the right place to pounce on the second ball. The Dutch ran forward, found the right shooting angle and beat Corvi with a low drive to the near post for his first goal of the season.
Despite taking the lead, Lazio kept pushing forward, and they found the second before the hour-mark. Belahyane was crucial once more, stealing the ball after a tame pass from the Parma goalkeeper. Taylor then lobbed the ball towards Tavares, who sneaked into the box from the left side.
The Portuguese left-back sent a tricky ball to the mouth of the goal in the hopes of finding Noslin, but it was Carlos who placed it in his own net to give the Aquile a two-goal cushion.
Lazio then wasted a host of chances to find the third goal. Mattia Zaccagni's shot went just over the bar, while Frattesi's first-time attempt whistled past the post. Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Tavares also had wayward shots.
While the Aquile were coasting to victory, Parma pulled one back out of nowhere in the 95th minute. Teenage substitute Simoni Lontani was trying to find a teammate with a cross from the left side, but the ball sailed over everyone, including Mandas, who misjudged the swerve, so it hit the post before sneaking past the line.
While the naked eye may have missed it, the referee announced the goal with the aid of goal-line technology.
Luckily for Lazio, this shocking goal wasn't enough to change the outcome of the game. Gattuso's men thus earned their seventh win of the season to occupy first place in the table while awaiting Inter Milan's game against Fiorentina on Sunday.
Goalscorers:Taylor (L), 58′ Diego Carlos (own goal, L), 95′ Lontani (P)
Lazio (4-3-3): Mandas; Floriani, Sutalo, Provstgaard (46′ Leite), Nuno Tavares; Frattesi, Belahyane, Taylor (71′ Dele-Bashiru); Isaksen (76′ Lazzari), Noslin, Zaccagni (76′ Pedraza).
Parma (5-3-2): Corvi; Drobnic, Troilo, Diego Carlos (72′ Frigan); Delprato, Ordonez (63′ Lontani), Sierro (46′ Bernabè), Keita, Valeri; Romero (78′ Fabbian), Touré.
Referee: Alberto Ruben Arena (Torre del Greco section); Linesmen: Ceccon – Ceolin; Fourth official: Doveri; VAR: Santoro; AVAR: Mazzoleni
Yellow cards: 30′ Provstgaard (L), 38′ Sierro (P)
