Lazio’s hopes of European football came crashing down after a shocking 1-0 defeat at home to 10-man Lecce, with Lassana Coulibaly emerging as the unlikely hero for the Salentini, whose victory sealed their Serie A survival.
The stakes couldn’t have been higher at the Stadio Olimpico. For Lazio, a European ticket ranging from the Champions League to the Conference League was on the line, while Lecce were desperate to avoid the drop.
Hosts Lazio were without Manuel Lazzari and Patric, and Lecce coach Marco Baroni served a touchline suspension.
The visitors also missed Tete Morente through suspension, and injuries ruled out Gaby Jean and Filip Marchwinski.
From the first whistle, it was a tense and heated affair between two sides burdened by expectation and fear.
Just before the break, disaster struck for the home side. A poor clearance from Mario Gila gifted possession to Nikola Krstovic, who teed up Lassana Coulibaly to calmly slot home the decisive goal.
Lazio pushed hard for a response, with Taty Castellanos drawing a sharp save from Wladimiro Falcone via a diving header.
But tempers flared late in the first half when Santiago Pierotti, already on a yellow, made contact with Nuno Tavares during a run, a foul that saw him dismissed, leaving Lecce a man down.
With Fiorentina threatening to bump them out of European contention, Lazio turned up the pressure.
Pedro’s curler was deflected just over, and Falcone denied Castellanos once more with a fine reaction save from a Tavares assist.
Mario Gila’s strike was heroically blocked, and Nuno Tavares saw a powerful effort skim off Federico Baschirotto and rattle the top of the crossbar.
The Lecce goal came under siege, with Falcone standing tall to parry Pedro’s effort and react swiftly to an audacious flick from Alessio Romagnoli off the resulting corner.
But Romagnoli’s frustration boiled over in stoppage time. In a moment of madness, he lunged into a reckless two-footed challenge near the corner flag and was shown a straight red card.
Lecce clung on heroically with ten men, securing their place in the top flight for another season. For Lazio, the night ended in heartbreak, their dreams of European competition vanishing into thin air.
