Lazio left Venice with a result that keeps them firmly among Serie A’s leading sides, although Gennaro Gattuso admitted his team had ridden their luck before taking control after the interval. Mattia Zaccagni converted a penalty for his first goal in almost a year, before Tijjani Noslin headed in the second, following up his strike against Milan with another decisive contribution.
A second-half response in Venice
The Biancocelesti did not have an uncomplicated afternoon. Venezia could reasonably have gone into the break ahead, in Gattuso’s assessment, with Lazio struggling to interpret the match in the opening phase.
- Zaccagni ended a near year-long wait for a goal by scoring from the spot.
- Noslin found the net for the second consecutive match after also scoring against Milan.
- Lazio improved after half-time and secured the points, but their coach described the outcome as very fortunate.
- The win took Lazio to 13 points, preserving their place near the top of the standings.
Gattuso did not want to turn the early table into a larger discussion. Asked about the 13-point return, he answered with a joke that Lazio should think in terms of being 27 points short of safety rather than looking upwards.
Gattuso credits a group shaped by the summer
The coach instead returned to the work done before the campaign began. Lazio’s summer training camp was demanding, and the season had begun with elimination in the first round of the Coppa Italia. Yet Gattuso believes the group’s response to those setbacks has established the foundation for their league form.
“I always have to thank these players,” he said. “We went out of the Coppa Italia immediately and endured an extreme training camp, but they never stopped working. I saw real willingness from them.”
He was equally direct about Venezia’s first-half threat. “If they had made it 1-0 before the interval, nobody could have complained. We adjusted in the second half, but we were very fortunate.”
Belahyane as an example of the required attitude
Gattuso singled out Belahyane when explaining the standards he expects inside the squad. The player initially struggled to cope with the intensity of the summer preparation, but his reaction left an impression on the Lazio coach.
- Gattuso said Belahyane was unable to keep up during the first days of training.
- The midfielder came to apologise to the coach when he felt he could not manage the workload.
- Gattuso stressed that he does not want to see players unwilling to work.
For the coach, that attitude has been central to Lazio’s early progress: a side prepared to suffer through difficult spells, correct its performance during a match and continue collecting points.
A decision Gattuso does not regret
Gattuso also revisited his decision to take the Lazio job in the summer. He said the circumstances around the club played a part in his arrival, after he had previously declined Claudio Lotito’s approaches on two or three occasions.
“Without the problems that existed, I would never have come to Lazio,” Gattuso said. “I made my choice. I had been close before and had always said no to Lotito. This time I accepted because I knew it was somewhere I could work, with players ready to give everything.”
That conviction is now being tested across the longer Serie A season. Venice offered an imperfect but valuable chapter: Lazio were vulnerable first, sharper later, and ultimately left with another win that keeps their early momentum intact.
