Lazio 4-0 AC Milan: Maurizio Sarri’s side produce superb display to shake up top four Serie A race

AC Milan’s desperate run of form continued as they suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Lazio in Rome on Tuesday, leaving the Rossoneri 12 points adrift of Serie A leaders Napoli.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic fired Lazio into an early lead and Mattia Zaccagni deservedly doubled their advantage before the break.

Luis Alberto’s second-half penalty and a Felipe Anderson strike completed the rout in the second-half as Milan’s winless run stretched to five games in all competitions.

An impressive performance from the Biancocelesti sent them into third place, one point behind Milan and ahead of Inter Milan and Roma on goal difference.

Lazio started as they meant to go on when Zaccagni found space on the left wing and played a low ball across goal, which was dummied by Alberto before Milinkovic-Savic profited from some statuesque defending to finish.

Milan looked every inch a side lacking confidence and form as they struggled to get a foothold in the game, and their efforts were disrupted further when Fikayo Tomori limped off midway through the first half to be replaced by Simon Kjaer.

Lazio soon took control as a Zaccagni volley was deflected just wide and Felipe Anderson was inches away from tapping in a Pedro cross, and they eventually found a way through Milan’s creaking defence once more.

Adam Marusic made a good run into the box and his angled shot was nudged onto the far post by Ciprian Tatarusanu, but Zaccagni was on hand for the simplest of tap-ins.

The winger could’ve had another before half-time when he raced onto a perfect-weighted Alberto through ball, but Kjaer denied the Italian with a last-ditch block.

Pioli eventually called for desperate measures as he made a triple change, and a deflected Rafael Leao effort and threatening Ismael Bennacer free-kick were encouraging signs.

But any chance of a comeback disappeared when Pierre Kalulu tripped Pedro in the box, allowing Alberto to step up and hammer a penalty into the roof of the net.

The rout was completed with 15 minutes to go when a deft pass from Alberto sent Anderson one-on-one with the keeper, and he steered home a finish.

TALKING POINT – What has happened to the Milan defence?

Milan’s 2021/22 Serie A title win was built on strong defence. The partnership of Pierre Kalulu and Fikayo Tomori, backed by the formidable Mike Maignan in goal, was the cornerstone of their unexpected title triumph.

So what has gone wrong? Maignan may be injured – he has been for months now – but the rest of the Milan defence is still made up of the same components as last year. Yes, against Lazio they lost Tomori midway through the first half and Hernandez was unavailable, but this is a recurring theme.

In this five-match winless run in all competitions, the Rossoneri have shipped 12 goals. That’s a hugely concerning figure and fixing it must be at the top of Stefano Pioli’s lengthy to-do list if he’s to turn this slump around.

MAN OF THE MATCH – Mattia Zaccagni

There were a lot of contenders in the Lazio side today, but Zaccagni was at the centre of everything. He set up the first goal, scored the second, had a hand in the fourth, and could’ve had another couple himself were it not for some desperate defending. An electric performance – and all of this in the absence of Lazio’s star striker Ciro Immobile.

PLAYER RATINGS

Lazio: Provedel 7, Marusic 7, Casale 7, Romagnoli 7, Hysaj 7, Milinkovic-Savic 8, Cataldi 7, Alberto 8, Pedro 7, Anderson 8, Zaccagni 9

Subs: Romero 6, Lazzari 6, Basic N/A

AC Milan: Tatarusanu 4, Calabria 4, Kalulu 5, Tomori 5, Dest 5, Bennacer 6, Tonali 6, Messias 5, Diaz 5, Leao 6, Giroud 5

Subs: Kjaer 6, Origi 5, Saelemaekers 6, De Ketelaere 6, Rebic 6

KEY MOMENTS

4’ Lazio strike early! And it’s so easy. Zaccagni cuts in from the left wing, rolls a cross in and Milinkovic-Savic is there to finish. Perfect start for the hosts!

23’ Oh dear, more bad news for Milan. Tomori has gone down inside his own half and needs treatment. The Englishman’s day is up. Tomori limps off to the bench and is replaced by Kjaer.

38’ Zaccagni makes it 2-0! It’s been coming and the scorer isn’t a huge surprise. Marusic is slipped in down the right wing and goes for goal, but his shot comes off the far post and drops kindly into the path of Zaccagni for a tap-in. Lazio are cruising here.

67’ Penalty to Lazio! Lazio launch a quick counter-attack and Anderson’s cross finds Pedro, who is brought down by Kalulu as he shoots wide. The referee points to the spot! Alberto steps up and bangs the penalty into the roof of the net.

75’ It’s a rout! Lazio have torn Milan’s defence to shreds tonight, and Anderson makes it 4-0 with time to spare. Zaccagni is again involved with the initial burst down the left, and he finds Alberto who plays a clever pass to free up Anderson in the box for a simple finish.

KEY STATS

AC Milan have conceded at least four goals without scoring in a Serie A match for their first time since losing 5-0 to Atalanta on 22 December 2019.

Mattia Zaccagni is the midfielder who has both scored and provided an assist in the same match the most times in the big-5 European leagues this season (three times).