SS Lazio on Sunday kept their bid for a first Serie A title in 20 years on track as they stayed one point behind leaders Juventus with a 3-2 win at Genoa, while four Serie A matches were postponed amid growing COVID-19 fears in northern Italy.
Reigning champions Juve on Saturday edged bottom club SPAL 2-1, but Lazio responded to keep the pressure on, extending their unbeaten away run in the league to 20 games.
Third-placed Inter, six points behind Juve, had their game at the San Siro against the other Genoese club, UC Sampdoria, postponed, with Thursday’s UEFA Europa League match against PFC Ludogorets also at risk, along with Sunday’s league clash with Juventus in Turin.
Photo: AP
Three other top-flight matches were also postponed: Torino against Parma, Atalanta BC versus US Sassuolo and Hellas Verona against Cagliari.
“I think it’s right to take the necessary precautions,” Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi said. “Do a lot of prevention, try to defeat and understand the problem by stopping the championship, because we shouldn’t underestimate what is happening.”
On the pitch, Adam Marusic scored the opener for Lazio with less than two minutes on the clock before Ciro Immobile, the top flight’s leading scorer this season, netted his 27th Serie A goal of the campaign six minutes into the second half.
Francesco Cassata pulled one back for the relegation-threatened hosts, but Danilo Cataldi secured Lazio all three points, despite Domenico Criscito’s late consolation.
“We’re doing something great. The lads know it and I’m not hiding from saying it,” Inzaghi said. “In 21 games between the championship and the Supercoppa we have won 17 times. In other championships we would be first, but here you have to fight with Juve and Inter. We are there in the chase and we will try to fight.”
Fifth-placed AS Roma ended their four-match winless streak, including three defeats, with a 4-0 success over lowly US Lecce.
Paulo Fonseca’s side keep in touch with Atalanta BC, in fourth, who are three points ahead in the final UEFA Champions League berth, with a game in hand.
The under-fire Portuguese coach praised the players for improving in every area as they followed on from their Europa league round-of-32, first leg win over Ghent last week.
“I accept the criticism,” Fonseca said. “If things are not going good the coach takes the blame, so in those moments I wasn’t expecting flowers.”
Turkish striker Cengiz Under picked up a Henrikh Mkhitaryan cross to fire Roma ahead after quarter of an hour in Rome.
Edin Dzeko set up Mkhitaryan for the second eight minutes before halftime, with the Bosnian himself connecting with a low Aleksandar Kolarov cross for the third with half an hour to go.
Kolarov rushed through to neatly tap in a fourth after 79 minutes for a first victory at the Stadio Olimpico since Dec. 15 last year.
“When you are losing you don’t feel good. I feel sharp,” Dzeko said. “These two wins will give us a boost going into the next few games.”
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