Zaccagni and Noslin sink Venezia with two goals in nine minutes, misery continues

Venezia missed a penalty inside the first quarter hour, ran into Christos Mandas time and again, and ended up paying dearly for every missed chance at the other end. Lazio took the match 2-0 at the Pier Luigi Penzo with two blows in the space of nine second-half minutes, leaving Venezia still without a point this season.

The first half was a one-sided affair that brought no reward for the home side. Venezia created the clearer chances, including a penalty in the 14th minute after a foul by Christos Mandas inside the box, but John Yeboah sent his effort wide of the post two minutes later. That summed up the opening 45: seven corners for the hosts, shots from Akor Adams, Simon Sohm and Thorir Helgason that found no target, and a scoreless deadlock at the break.

The second half flipped the script

No sooner had the second half begun than the story turned on its head. In the 48th minute, John Yeboah brought down Kenneth Taylor for a penalty, and this time there was punishment: Mattia Zaccagni converted in the 50th minute with a strike into the top corner to make it 0-1. Nine minutes later, in the 59th, came the blow that sealed the result: Tijjani Noslin headed home from close range off a cross from Nuno Tavares to make it 0-2.

Venezia tried to respond with substitutions (Rrahmani, Sagrado and Toni Fernandez all came on in search of a reaction) and with shots from Matias Moreno that Mandas kept turning away, but the hosts could not pull one back. Lazio, with Gattuso on the bench, managed the lead with the introductions of Gudmundsson, Pinamonti and Lazzari.

The numbers behind the match

Venezia finished with more possession, more shots and more corners, but lacked precision: just 6 of their 17 attempts were on target, compared to 2 of 12 for Lazio. That goes a long way toward explaining why dominating the game is not always enough.

The expected goals figure calculated after the match from the shots taken came out close: 1.984 for Venezia against 1.808 for Lazio, a number that confirms the home side created enough danger to have taken something from the game, but that clinical finishing tipped everything in the visitors' favor.

The projection published before kickoff gave Lazio a 40% chance of winning, 30% for a draw and 30% for Venezia, with a total expected goal count of 2.57. The final result, with two goals and an away win, ended up matching the forecast that had Lazio as favorites.

What it means in the standings

The loss leaves Venezia without a win through this stretch of the season: 0 points from 5 matches played, with a goal difference of minus 9. Lazio, meanwhile, have 13 points from 5 matches and sit in third place in Serie A, level with Roma and Inter at the top on points, though with a lower goal difference. The 13-point gap between the two clubs in the table is a fair reflection of what played out on the pitch: a Venezia side that competes but cannot find a way to pick up points, and a Lazio side that remains in the mix at the top despite not being the better team on the day.