Mattia Zaccagni’s penalty at Venezia carried more than three points’ worth of relief. Lazio’s captain had supplied two assists in the previous league matches, but the strike at the Penzo ended a personal scoring wait and confirmed the renewed influence he has found under Gennaro Gattuso.
Key takeaways
- Zaccagni converted Lazio’s decisive penalty against Venezia, his sixth successful spot-kick in Serie A.
- The captain has produced one goal and two assists across Lazio’s last three league fixtures.
- His previous Serie A goal had come against Cagliari at the Olimpico on 3 November 2025.
- Lazio will return from the international break level at the top of the table with Inter and Roma after five matches.
- Since first scoring in Serie A in 2019-20, Zaccagni has found the net in each of the past eight league seasons.
A captain restored to the centre of Lazio
There was a kiss of the badge in Venezia, the gesture of a player who had waited too long for a goal to celebrate. Zaccagni struck his penalty firmly across the goalkeeper, leaving Filip Stankovic rooted to the spot, and gave Lazio the breakthrough in a contest that had remained stubbornly closed until half-time.
The responsibility was considerable. Earlier in the match, Yeboah had failed from the spot after Ivan Provedel’s replacement, Mandas, kept him out. Zaccagni did not allow the occasion or his own long drought to affect him, placing a forceful and accurate effort beyond Stankovic.
It was his first league goal since the home meeting with Cagliari on 3 November 2025. His previous away goal had been even further back, on 29 September of last year, when he completed a 3-0 win at Genoa with a close-range finish at Marassi.
The return of Zaccagni’s end product is particularly significant for a Lazio side that has begun the campaign beyond most expectations. Before the opening trip to Bologna, few would have predicted that the Biancocelesti would enter the next round, after the break, sharing first place with Inter and Roma.
Gattuso made contact with Zaccagni before anyone else when he began his summer work, speaking first to the established leaders and then to prospective arrivals. The coach’s trust in the captain has been repaid at a time when several major figures have left the squad and Zaccagni has been asked to carry greater authority.
After the damaging cup elimination against Serie B side Mantova, Zaccagni had publicly committed himself to Lazio: “I am staying here.” The league campaign has since changed the mood around the club, although the scale of Lazio’s ambitions will be clearer after the pause.
Fitness, service and a rare record of consistency
Zaccagni’s difficult previous season was shaped by physical problems. Surgery before pre-season interrupted his preparation, while the resolution of a pubalgia issue was followed by muscular imbalances that prevented him from reaching his best condition for any sustained period.
That burden appears to have lifted. Gattuso has benefited from a more productive attacking side, and the captain’s recent contribution has been decisive rather than decorative.
At Udinese, Zaccagni worked free on the left and immediately delivered with his left foot for Davide Frattesi’s sliding finish, which restored parity before Gudmundsson secured the turnaround late on. Five days later against Milan, he received from Tavares and sent an early ball across for Cancellieri, who arrived at the far post ahead of Estupinan.
The Venezia penalty completed a sequence of two assists and a goal in three rounds. Zaccagni had not managed such a return over three consecutive league games since February 2025, when he recorded one goal and three assists with Baroni in charge.
His goal also placed him in a select group. From the 2019-20 season, when he registered his first Serie A goal, Zaccagni is one of only seven players to have scored in every one of the last eight championship campaigns. Raspadori, Zielinski, Politano, Lautaro Martinez, Calhanoglu and Barella make up the rest of that group.
