Lazio secured a first group win by hanging on for a 2-1 success at home to Werder Bremen.
Rocchi double as both sides finish with 10 men
Lazio secured a first UEFA Champions League group win by hanging on for a 2-1 success at home to Werder Bremen.
Tomasso Rocchi scored twice in the second half to put Lazio in control before defender Emilson Cribari picked up a second yellow card for bringing down Per Mertesacker in the box.
Diego smashed home the resulting penalty, but the Brazilian playmaker was then sent off deep into injury-time for two bookable offences.
While Bremen enjoyed the greater possession in the first period, Lazio dominated when it came to chances, with Stephen Makinwa blazing wide in the first minute after pouncing on a loose pass.
Rocchi then escaped from the Bremen defence, only to follow strike partner Makinwa's example in shooting off target, while Hugo Almeida headed wide on the stretch at the opposite end.
Lazio defender Guglielmo Stendardo wriggled away from his marker on 11 minutes, but his header at the far post was straight at Bremen keeper Tim Wiese.
Luciano Zauri forced a sprawling save out of Wiese on 13 minutes after a flowing move from the home side before the Lazio captain was replaced by Lorenzo De Silvestri just five minutes later.
Good awareness from Makinwa picked out Mourad Meghni in space on the edge of the box, but the midfielder arrowed his shot over the bar before Wiese parried smartly after Makinwa had nipped in behind the Bremen back-line.
The Germans were also pressed into a change in the first half as Frank Baumann departed with a bloodied nose and before the close of the opening 45 minutes Tim Borowski headed clear on his line after Rocchi had helped on a corner.
Diego had the first chance of the second half, but the Bremen schemer volleyed wide from the edge of the area before Lazio took the lead on 56 minutes.
Naldo barged into the back of Meghni and, though Rocchi saw his penalty saved by the legs of Wiese, Lazio's stand-in skipper reacted sharply to nudge the ball over the line.
Seeking to make amends for conceding the penalty, Naldo thumped a 25-yard free-kick towards the top corner, forcing Lazio's 43-year-old keeper Marco Ballotta into a reaction stop.
Rocchi then put the game beyond Bremen on 68 minutes, racing on to a cross-field pass from Meghni and lifting the ball delicately over the onrushing Wiese.
Cribari's foul on Mertesacker briefly raised hopes of a Bremen fightback on 86 minutes, when Diego thumped home from the spot, only for the scorer to be sent off late on.
| Lazio |
Team Statistics |
Werder Bremen |
|
| 2 |
Goals |
1 |
|
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
|
| 6 |
Shots on Target |
4 |
|
| 4 |
Shots off Target |
6 |
|
| 2 |
Blocked Shots |
3 |
|
| 4 |
Corners |
5 |
|
| 18 |
Fouls |
13 |
|
| 4 |
Offsides |
2 |
|
| 3 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
|
| 1 |
Red Cards |
1 |
|
| 70.3 |
Passing Success |
79.8 |
|
| 17 |
Tackles |
15 |
|
| 70.6 |
Tackles Success |
80 |
|
| 40.3 |
Possession |
59.7 |
|
| 54.9 |
Territorial Advantage |
45.1 |
|
|
