Lazio defeated Feyenoord 1-0 at home in the Champions League on Tuesday, moving up to second place in Group E and maintaining the Italians’ hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage. The victory was secured by a goal in the first half by Ciro Immobile.
Lazio, who suffered a 3-1 loss in the rematch against Celtic last month, is currently in second place in the group with seven points from four games, one point behind leaders Atletico Madrid who destroyed Celtic 6-0 in the other match.
Captain Immobile gave the home team the lead in stoppage time after he rounded visiting goalkeeper Justin Bijlow and struck low from a tight angle towards the far post. The first half had been largely uneventful.
After coach Sarri made five changes to his starting lineup from the team that lost 1-0 to Bologna in the league on Friday, the 33-year-old scored his 200th goal for the Italian team while once again operating in the center of the attack.
After a free kick in the 67th minute, Santiago Gimenez of Feyenoord had a chance to equalize, but his header missed by an inch.
Before halftime, the Mexican, who scored twice in the victory over Lazio in Rotterdam, had a great opportunity, but home goalkeeper Ivan Provedel stopped it with the tips of his fingers.
Provedel then denied Ayase Ueda’s powerful header in stoppage time to give Lazio the victory.
“We played a match in which we were at our best, even in moments of suffering,” Sarri told Sky Sport. “(But) Against them we had to suffer, they are a goal machine and tonight we kept them dry.
“Let’s hope we didn’t pay a heavy price because we came away with some injuries. (Mattia) Zaccagni and Luis Alberto? There’s a bit of concern.”
Luis Alberto received medical attention on the field just before regulation ended, and Pedro replaced midfielder Zaccagni after Lazio had used all of their substitutes.
Feyenoord’s defender Bart Nieuwkoop sustained an injury in the 20th minute.
The Dutch champions, who had led the standings heading into the game, fell to third place with six points.
For the first time since 2017–18, Feyenoord, the 1970 European Champions, are taking part in the group stage. However, they have never made it to the knockout stage of the competition since it was renamed the Champions League in 1992.
