Cagliari 1 - 3 Lazio: Lazio maintain momentum

Posted Saturday, April 04, 2015 by PA

Lazio kept the heat on second-place Roma by clinching a seventh consecutive Serie A success, 3-1 at 10-man Cagliari.

Miroslav Klose put the Roman outfit ahead in the 31st minute only for Marco Sau to pull Cagliari level four minutes into the second half.

Lucas Biglia put the visitors back in front on the hour from the penalty spot after Lorenzo Crisetig brought substitute Keita down in the area.

Former Lazio defender Mobido Diakite was shown a straight red eight minutes later when he fouled Keita in the box, but Biglia sent the resulting penalty over the crossbar.

Lazio put the game out of reach with seconds remaining when Marco Parolo struck from outside the area to make it 3-1.

The win allowed Lazio to stay hot on the heels of Roma, who remained one point clear in second place, one point clear. Roma beat Napoli 1-0 earlier in the day for their second straight victory.

Cagliari, meanwhile, have not won since January 24. They have now lost four times in the last five outings at the Sant' Elia stadium and are 18th in the standings, five points adrift of safety.

Lazio dominated early possession and went ahead in the 31st minute when Felipe Anderson picked out Stefano Mauri in the box and he sent the ball through to Klose, who was left with an easy tap-in.

The hosts first tested Federico Marchetti in the 35th minute but Daniele Dessena's bullet strike from 25 yards was kept out by the visiting goalkeeper.

Lazio almost made it 2-0 early in the second half. Antonio Candreva fed Mauri in the area but his left-footed attempt was saved by Cagliari goalkeeper Zeljko Brkic.

Cagliari made no mistake at the other end. Dessena set up Sau in the box and his diagonal shot beat Marchetti as Cagliari levelled the contest.

However, the Sardinians' joy was short-lived as Lazio went back in front 11 minutes later.

The referee pointed to the spot after Keita fell in the box following contact from Crisetig and Biglia struck the spot-kick towards the near post and out of Brkic's reach.

Lazio were awarded another penalty shortly after when Keita was brought down in the box by Diakite - but this time Biglia struck his effort over the crossbar.

The Biancoceleste killed off any hopes of a Cagliari equaliser when Parolo made it 3-1 following a set-piece situation.

Danilo Cataldi set up Parolo outside the area and his 30-yard bullet strike beat Brkic.