Our last fixture of 2022 will arrive earlier than most fans are used to this weekend when we take on Lazio at Allianz Stadium, in Matchday 15 of the Serie A season (20:45 CET).
The Bianconeri will be looking to continue their impressive five-game win streak so that we can head into the World Cup break with maximum points. Ahead of the match against Le Aquile we look at the best five fixtures played in Turin.
2019/20: JUVENTUS 2-1 LAZIO
A big game coming in the middle of a stop-start season due to the global pandemic. The two teams went into this fixture with Lazio breathing hard down the necks of Juventus who were sat top of the Serie A table. A tightly contested first half would see both sides strike the woodwork. First, the Bianconeri when Matthijs de Ligt’s pull-back from a free-kick into the box found the head of Alex Sandro who hit Thomas Strakosha’s left-hand post. Then, Ciro Immobile found himself in some space at the other end and his fierce strike rattled off of Wojciech Szczesny’s right-hand post.
The Bianconeri breakthrough would come early in the second half, however, when Cristiano Ronaldo’s shot at goal was blocked by a handball the referee pointed to the spot following consultation with VAR and the subsequent penalty was coolly dispatched by CR7. The second and game-winning goal would come just three minutes later when Paulo Dybala and Ronaldo stole possession from the high-up Lazio defence to go two-on-one with the goalkeeper and La Joya passed across goal for Ronaldo to tap into an empty net on the counter. Lazio responded late on with an Immobile penalty but Juve held on for the 2-1 win that effectively knocked the capital club out of the title race and further tightened Juve’s hold on the title that they would eventually go onto claim.
2018/19: JUVENTUS 2-0 LAZIO
Speaking of Cristiano Ronaldo, we go back to the summer of 2018 and the hotly anticipated home debut of CR7 in the Bianconeri colours for Juve-Lazio for just the second matchday of the 2018/19 Serie A campaign. The Allianz Stadium is bursting with excitement at the prospect of seeing the best player in the world run out in Turin.
Despite not getting on the scoresheet Ronaldo plays a good game, going close to getting a goal, but it’s an old favourite who unlocks the game on the half hour mark, when Miralem Pjanic hits a first-time volley on an attempted Lazio clearance that flies into the back of the net. The result would be made safe in the 75th minute when Joao Cancelo’s pass across the box is just deviated by the goalkeeper to end up hitting Ronaldo on the back foot and flicking up for Mario Mandzukic to strike home! A top 2-0 win sealed that would be an important three points in the Bianconeri’s eventual title win come the end of the season.
2013/14: JUVENTUS 4-1 LAZIO
….And speaking of Juve-Lazio on matchday two of the season, this was also the scene for 2013/14. Traditionally a tough opponent for the Bianconeri, the Romans were outclassed on the night in Turin, and things got going after just 14 minutes of play when Paul Pogba’s brilliantly lofted pass picked out Arturo Vidal in the box to finish. It was almost rinse and repeat 12 minutes later, this time Leonardo Bonucci picked out Vidal with a ball over the top, and once again Arturo made no mistake to double our advantage. However, Miroslav Klose would get a goal back soon after to give the capital club some hope going into the interval.
Any hopes of a Lazio fightback were dashed early in the second half in yet another carbon-copy goal! Bonucci will the long ball from deep and this time it was Mirko Vucinic to get on the end of it to tap past Federico Marchetti. Before the anticipation of Ronaldo’s debut, there was another great Bianconeri player who the public were excited to see, Carlos Tevez! El Apache was also making his home debut in the fixture and he was able to sign it with a goal 10 minutes before the end, controlling a pass to feet well, opening up his body and placing into the back of the net to make it 4-1!
2011/12: JUVENTUS 2-1 LAZIO
If you ask a Juventus fan to name their all-time favourite Juve-Lazio, it’s likely that this edition will be the top of the list. Deep in a battle for the Scudetto with AC Milan, the Rossoneri unexpectedly lost ground the previous matchday, falling 2-1 at home to Fiorentina, giving the Bianconeri an opening to leapfrog them at the top of the table.
With the pressure on, we got the game’s all-important opener after half an hour of play when Andrea Pirlo’s perfect ball picking out Simone Pepe who finished with an equally perfect bicycle kick to make it 1-0. Goalkeeper, Marchetti would be called into action to deny the Bianconeri adding to their lead and then on the stroke of half-time the visitors equalised through Stefano Mauri’s header to go into the break at 1-1. In the second half we pushed forward but to no avail, however since the motto is “Fino Alla Fine” eventually we made something happen. On 82 minutes, both Pirlo and substitute, Alessandro Del Piero stand over a promising free-kick, Del Piero quickly runs up to strike a more direct hit at goal than his usual finesse and it catches both the wall and Marchetti by surprise to crash into the back of the Lazio net. It would seal a huge win, as Juventus would eventually go onto claim Scudetto number 30.
1993/94: JUVENTUS 6-1 LAZIO
When it comes to all-time top fixtures, we of course have to mention biggest results and 1993/94 is the biggest Bianconeri win in modern times, with Juventus curiously having also triumphed by the same scoreline in 1934/35, 1936/37 and 1958/59.
The ball was rolling on this end of season fixture after just seven minutes of play, when Gianluca Vialli headed home from a corner kick. Three minutes later and it was 2-0 to the hosts, as Angelo Di Livio’s ball across goal was diverted into his own net by Lazio defender, Roberto Bacci. With no letting up, Jurgen Kohler made it 3-0 inside 14 minutes when a corner kick fell into the German’s path and he put the ball into the roof of the net with the scoreline heavily in the Bianconeri’s favour going into half-time. In the second half, Giuseppe Signori thought he might have given Lazio a chance when his shot went past Angelo Peruzzi in goal. However, it would prove to be in vain, as Vialli completed a hat-trick 10 minutes apart, first by lobbing goalkeeper, Gianluca Marchegiani and then by volleying in Moreno Torricelli’s cross to the far post. Finally, there was still time for Roberto Baggio to score a masterpiece of a goal as Il Divin Codino danced round the Lazio defence to net a sixth goal for the Bianconeri!