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Lazio Champions League Push Halted by Novara

Lazio’s bid in maintaining their current third place spot suffered another blow after Edy Reja’s team got beaten by bottom side, Novara, 2-1 at Stadio Silvio Piola.

The defeat simply puts the Biacocelesti’s situation under massive thread as their competitors could easily move inch closer and could eventually surpassed them if the capital side’s current slump continues.

Playing without several injured players such as Christian Brocchi, Hernanes, Miroslav Klose, Stefan Radu and Senad Lulic, Lazio were not looking convincing at all, especially after only picking up one point from their previous game. However, despite playing without those names, the visitor actually still manage to give several threats for Novara, but 10 minutes before the first half whistle blown, Reja’s team were surprised by the home team who opened the scoring through Mobito Diakite’s own goal.

Reja’s team reacted quickly though after that own goal as Antonio Candreva equalized around two minutes later after heading in a rebound from Alberto Fontana, who couldn’t handle Stefano Mauri’s fierce shot. The scoreline didn’t change again until the half time whistle and both teams started their second period looking for another goal, making the game much more interesting indeed, especially for the fans who spared some time during their lunch hours.

After an exciting end to end stuffs from both sides, Novara finally got the edge again after substitute, Mascara converted a lovely free kick which flew passed Federico Marchetti on Lazio’s goal. This goal apparently was the final action on the day, somewhat another disappointing outcome for Reja’s team, although the tactician has already predicted their tough end of the season due to the injuries their having.

Match Report:
Novara v Lazio 2-1

Goals: Diakite og 35, Mascara 79 (Novara); Candreva 37 (Lazio)

Novara: Fontana; Morganella, Lisuzzo, Paci, Garcia; Porcari, Pesce, Rigoni; Mazzarani (Radovanovic 76); Morimoto (Mascara 57), Caracciolo (Centurioni 84)
Lazio: Marchetti; Scaloni, Diakite, Dias, Garrido; Candreva (Rozzi 84), Cana (Matuzalem 77), Ledesma; Mauri; Rocchi (Alfaro 62), Kozak