Rome’s Olympic Stadium watched Lazio stretch an unbeaten opening to the season, beating Monza 3-1 to join Inter at the top of Serie A on 16 points from six matches.
Gennaro Gattuso’s side have won five of those six fixtures, a remarkable response from a coach back in club football after Italy failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup during his spell as national-team manager.
Quick facts
- Lazio beat Monza 3-1 at the Stadio Olimpico.
- Nuno Tavares scored in the third minute and Gustav Isaksen added another in the 23rd.
- Monza defender Lorenzo Lucchesi was sent off in the 35th minute.
- Saba Goglichidze pulled one back immediately after half-time.
- Andrea Pinamonti made the result safe in the 89th minute, set up by Alfonso Pedraza.
- Lazio are level with Inter on 16 points, while Monza sit 16th with four.
The hosts began with force. Portuguese full-back Nuno Tavares struck from outside the penalty area, sending a fierce left-footed effort into the top corner after only three minutes.
Isaksen doubled the advantage midway through the first half, leaving Lazio apparently in control. Monza’s task then became still harder when Lucchesi brought down Tijjani Noslin as the Lazio forward broke clear towards goal, earning a dismissal in the 35th minute.
Yet Ivan Juric’s visitors did not fade. Goglichidze scored in the opening minute of the second half and Monza came close to restoring parity despite playing with 10 men.
Lazio eventually found their decisive third goal late on. Spaniard Alfonso Pedraza supplied Pinamonti, who finished in the 89th minute to protect the points.
The result followed a weekend shift at the summit. Inter defeated Parma 3-0 and moved ahead on goal difference after Roma, who had started the round in first place, drew 0-0 away to Cesc Fàbregas’ Como.
Lazio’s six-match return represents the finest start in the club’s history. The mood around the Olimpico remains more complicated, however: sections of the Biancocelesti support continue their home-match boycott amid their long-running dispute with president and owner Claudio Lotito, leaving visible gaps in the stands even as Gattuso’s team gathers pace.
