Alessio Romagnoli Evokes Memories of Alessandro Nesta as AC Milan Beat Lazio

AC Milan won a second consecutive Serie A match for the first time since February at the San Siro on Tuesday night. Their 2-0 victory over Lazio followed on from last Friday’s 1-0 away win over Sampdoria, meaning successive clean sheets were also ensured.

Alessio Romagnoli was at the heart of this sound defensive display, though he also had an important part to play in possession. It was another convincing all-round performance from the 21-year-old stopper, something that was all the more noteworthy considering it came against the club he is believed to have supported as a boy.

In August 2015, Il Tempo (h/t Football Italia) reported that the player had always been a Lazio supporter. The revelation attracted a great deal of controversy, primarily because the youngster came through the youth academy of the Biancocelesti’s loathed rivals AS Roma.

However, Romagnoli had no problem keeping his purported childhood heroes at bay on Tuesday.

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaha Romagnoli ‘a secret #Lazio fan for years’! https://t.co/GSHaNtXOA2

— Alasdair Mackenzie (@aksmackenzie) August 12, 2015

M’Baye Niang caused problems for Lazio’s defence in the early part of the match with his pace and movement. After breaking through the away side’s defensive line his heels seemed to be clipped by Bastos, but referee Davide Massa saw nothing wrong. The Frenchman then worked a good shooting opportunity only to fire a tame effort straight into the hands of Thomas Strakosha.

The visitors threatened with chances of their own, including a strong header from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, but they were caught out by the unerring cool of Milan striker Carlos Bacca.

With the Lazio defence taking up a high position, the 30-year-old managed to break free from inside his own half. And, having taken a few touches to get himself into a one-on-one situation, there was absolutely no doubt where the ball was going. True to form, he calmly slotted into the bottom-left corner to give his side the lead in the 37th minute.

Milan took control briefly following the opening goal. A firm strike from Giacomo Bonaventura almost slipped out of the hands of Strakosha, before Juraj Kucka saw his header disallowed after he made contact with the goalkeeper in the process. After half-time, Niang somehow contrived not to tap a Davide Calabria pass into an unguarded net.

Lazio had introduced Keita Balde Diao at the interval in the hope of adding flair and speed in the final third, but, while the Senegalese provided both, he was unable to bring a finishing touch. A superbly timed Gabriel Paletta tackle thwarted him when almost through on goal, while later in the game the …

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