Lazio rescue late draw

Lazio came from a goal down to claim a 1-1 draw with Olympiakos thanks to Luciano Zauri's late strike.

Zauri strike salvages draw in Greece

Lazio came from a goal down to claim a 1-1 draw with Olympiakos thanks to Luciano Zauri's late strike.

Luciano Galletti's well-taken effort shortly after half-time looked like giving the Greeks the win prior to Zauri's late intervention.

The goals lit up an otherwise quiet Georgios Karaiskakis stadium as fans were banned from attending the contest due to crowd disturbances against Shakhtar Donetsk last season.

Predrag Djordjevic had the first chance of the game but he guided Vassilis Torossidis' right-wing cross over the bar from the edge of the six-yard box.

At the other end Olympiakos' veteran keeper Antonis Nikopolidis did well to parry Cristian Ledesma's free-kick behind for a corner.

Former Newcastle and Portsmouth striker Tresor Lomana Lua Lua tried his luck from distance, but his effort lacked pace and was easily collected by Marco Ballotta.

Didier Domi then found space down the left although his left-footed shot was always going wide of Ballotta's left-hand post.

Stefano Mauri was looking lively up front for the visitors, although he wasted too much time in pulling the trigger within sight of goal - allowing Michal Zewlakow to make a timely block.

Olympiakos finished the half in the ascendancy with Galletti forcing a fine save out of Ballotta following a raking pass from Djordjevic from inside his own half.

Opening goal of the game

The home side came out full of confidence following the interval and were rewarded for their endeavours with the opening goal of the game.

Galletti broke the offside trap from Djordjevic's through ball and he calmly rounded Ballotta before slotting home into the empty net with a fine finish.

The home side nearly doubled their advantage with Lua Lua's audacious long-range effort floating just wide of the upright.

Olympiakos continued to turn the screw with Christos Patsatzoglou and Djordjevic both going close for the Greeks.

However, out of the blue, with time running out for Lazio, they snatched an equaliser and with it a point.

The ball fell kindly to Zauri in the box and his well-struck right-footed effort somehow managed to beat Nikopolidis at his near post.

If anything the Italians finished the stronger side and only a fine save by veteran Nikopolidis denied Goran Pandev after he broke the offside trap.

Olympiakos	Team Statistics	Lazio
1	Goals	1
0	1st Half Goals	0
6	Shots on Target	8
5	Shots off Target	2
3	Blocked Shots	2
11	Corners	3
20	Fouls	10
1	Offsides	2
1	Yellow Cards	3
0	Red Cards	0
83.7	Passing Success	84.5
22	Tackles	25
86.4	Tackles Success	92
50	Possession	50
49.6	Territorial Advantage	50.4