Lazio secured their Europa League spot for the next season as Juventus rued chances on a majestic night.
The encounter between Juventus and Lazio had everything at Turin’s Allianz Stadium on Monday evening. Under the bright lights of the area, hundreds and thousands saw some special moments unravelling in front of their eyes as it turned out to be the last home appearance for Juventus’ two of the most loyal and emphatic servants. The Juventini sent a heartwarming farewell to the departing pair of Giorgio Chiellini and Paulo Dybala.
Apart from emotion, there were goals. In the first half, Alvaro Morata’s inch-perfect cross met with the header of a towering Dusan Vlahovic, who opened the scoring for the hosts. As a result, Chiellini got to take part in his last goal celebration before making his way out of the field in the 17th-minute of the match, which was the remembrance of the defender’s senior debut for the club seventeen years ago. A few minutes later, Morata, pulling some tricks out of his bag, extended the lead for Bianconeri.
Soon after the restart, Lazio brought one back in what was ruled as Alex Sandro’s own goal. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, recently linked with a summer move to Turin, had the last laugh as his last-minute goal secured Lazio’s qualification for the next season’s UEFA Europa League. Here are the player ratings from the Ola Lady’s final home appearance this season.
Juventus: Perin (6); Cuadrado (6), Bonucci (6), Chiellini (10), Alex Sandro (5); Locatelli (6), Miretti (6.5), Bernardeschi (6.5), Dybala (6.5), Álvaro Morata (8.5), Vlahović (7)
Substitutes: de Ligt (6), Pellegrini (6), Kean (6), Ake (5.5), Palumbo (N/A)
Lazio: Strakosha (6); Lazzari (6), Patric (6.5), Acerbi (6), Marušić (5); Cataldi (6.5), Luis Alberto (6), Milinković-Savić (7.5); Felipe Anderson (6), Zaccagni (6), Jovane Cabral (5)
Substitutes: Pedro (6), Basic (N/A), Leiva (N/A), Radu (N/A)
