Lazio’s rise gathered another layer at the Olimpico, where a 2-1 win over Parma sent Gennaro Gattuso’s side three points clear at the top of Serie A for at least one night. The table is still young enough to resist declarations, and Gattuso himself refused to indulge them, but his team have put together a convincing opening stretch: 22 points after eight matches, with Inter still to face Fiorentina.
The result was forged after an uneasy first half and then protected through a late scare. Taylor opened the scoring five minutes after the interval, finishing left-footed from 16 metres after Mattia Zaccagni’s run had opened the route through. Parma had held their ground before the break and had carried a threat on the counterattack, but Lazio found more control and conviction after half-time.
The second goal came in the 58th minute, from the sort of mistake that can change the temperature of a match. Parma goalkeeper Corvi lost possession while playing out, Lazio worked the ball towards Nuno Tavares on the left, and Diego Carlos inadvertently diverted it beyond his own goalkeeper at the near post. Lazio then looked capable of adding to their lead, with Zaccagni, Dele-Bashiru and Frattesi all going close as the home side pressed for a third.
Parma did not leave quietly. Simone Lontani, introduced in the second half, first sent a curling effort narrowly wide in added time before his cross took an unusual trajectory and dropped inside the far post in the 95th minute, looping over Mandas. It was the first goal of Alberto Gilardino’s spell in charge, but not the result the visitors needed. Parma have now lost three successive league games and remain in the relegation places.
Mandas had been important in keeping Lazio level early on. He denied Romero after the forward had driven almost the length of the pitch, and later turned away another Romero attempt from distance. El Bilal Touré also tested the goalkeeper with a header, while Lazio’s clearest first-half opening saw Isaksen strike the crossbar from Zaccagni’s delivery. Isaksen did find the net shortly afterwards, but VAR confirmed the offside decision.
Gattuso had asked his side not to expect an immediate solution against a Parma team set up with a 5-3-2 and quick forwards. His warning was reflected in the opening hour: Lazio had possession and pressure, but Parma were organised and capable of troubling them when space appeared. The difference came from Lazio’s patience after the interval rather than a frantic response.
“We are writing a good story,” Gattuso said afterwards, while also thanking the Curva Nord for its support. Yet he remained guarded about Lazio’s place at the summit. “We do not belong up there, but it depends on us,” he said, underlining the need to take the season one match at a time.
Taylor echoed that balance after scoring the decisive first goal. “It was not our best match, but we deserved to win,” he said. “Parma defended well, but we stayed focused.” The midfielder credited Gattuso with creating a close group, adding that the squad were fighting for each other. Belahyane also praised the coach’s influence, saying the players should take inspiration from Gattuso’s energy and aggression during his playing career.
For Mandas, the late concession was a frustration rather than a cloud over the evening. He said he had wanted the clean sheet, but placed greater value on the three points and the team’s intention to improve from game to game. The goalkeeper also felt Lazio had begun below their usual standards before producing a stronger second-half display.
Parma’s familiar problem
Gilardino saw signs of progress despite another defeat. His side had lost his first two matches in charge, against Inter and Torino, both by 3-0, and he felt Parma were more compact and more competitive before the interval in Rome. They created chances to take the lead, but he accepted that their work unravelled too easily after the restart.
“We conceded two goals far too simply,” Gilardino said. “There were mistakes and naïveté that we cannot allow ourselves.” He urged his young group not to surrender the initiative at the first setback, describing that reaction as unacceptable. Parma, he said, are close to finding the goal and positive result that could turn their momentum, but they must retain collective balance and become more clinical.
The coach explained that Bernabé began on the bench because he was returning from a minor problem that had kept him out for around two weeks, having played nearly the entire previous match against Torino. Vincent Sierro started in his place, while Bernabé entered at half-time. Gilardino also pointed to the responsibility of more experienced figures such as Sierro, Diego Carlos and Delprato, saying they must communicate and provide leadership for a squad still finding its identity.
Lontani offered one encouraging note. Gilardino said the young player has significant room to grow in quality and in attacking depth, and can be useful on the left or behind the forwards. His late goal, born from a cross that escaped Mandas, gave Parma a measure of evidence for that belief even if it could not change the outcome.
Lazio’s next three league fixtures before the November international break are against Sassuolo, Cagliari and Napoli, with the Napoli match arriving immediately before the pause. Parma face Udinese, Atalanta and Bologna by 7 November, a sequence that will test whether Gilardino can turn improved passages of play into the points required to climb away from danger.
