The first big swing arrived on 17 minutes when John Yeboah stepped up from the spot. Mandas guessed right, saved low, and set the tone for his night. Venezia kept pressing through the half, drawing five saves from the Greek keeper before the break. It finished 0-0 at halftime despite the hosts generating the better xG in the opening period.

Lazio shifted gears after the restart. On 51 minutes Zaccagni went high to the left from 11.5 meters and beat Filip Stanković for 1-0. Nine minutes later, Nuno Tavares delivered a pinpoint cross and Noslin met it with a firm header for 2-0. Referee Simone Sozza handed out six yellow cards to Venezia, five of them in the final half-hour as Lazio protected the lead. Substitutions followed for both sides, including Manuel Lazzari and Alfonso Pedraza to help close it out, while Venezia’s Þórir Jóhann Helgason left injured.

How Lazio won the numbers game

Efficiency mattered most: Lazio had two shots on target and scored with both. Their Expected Goals on Target stood at 1.94, reflecting the quality of those two finishes. They also edged ball possession 51% to 49%, and completed more passes, 506 to 483. Gennaro Gattuso’s side owned the duels, winning 55% overall and 57% of aerials in the second half.

Out of possession, they were tidy and committed. Lazio made 23 clearances and 49 recoveries, absorbing pressure as Venezia loaded the box with 30 touches. They were cleaner in transition too, completing 9 of 13 dribbles (69%) and posting 48 final-third entries to Venezia’s 32. The back line held up with Josip Šutalo at 7.7 Sofascore Rating and Oliver Provstgaard steady on the ball. Nuno Tavares was a true outlet with 51 passes, two accurate crosses and one assist, supported by a robust 0.655 expected assists. The team’s average Sofascore Rating hit 8.02, a fair reflection of control when it mattered.

Venezia’s missed chances cost them

The numbers say Venezia created enough to score. They led xG 1.89 to 1.60, took 17 shots to Lazio’s 12 and hit the target six times. They also produced two big chances but failed to convert either. The turning point was Yeboah’s early penalty miss, with Mandas’ save changing the game state.

Up front, Akor Adams was lively with five shots and three on target, but he also missed a big chance. Kike Pérez was the creative pulse, serving four key passes and a team-high 0.447 xA while completing 63 of 68 passes. Venezia entered the penalty area 30 times and won seven corners, yet couldn’t find a finish to match the build-up. Discipline hurt them too, as they conceded 14 fouls and picked up six yellows with no cards shown to Lazio. Stanković had no saves to make, a quirk of a match where Lazio’s only two efforts on target were both goals. The pieces were there, but the final touch and decision-making under pressure were not.

MVP: Christos Mandas (Lazio)

Mandas earned an 8.8 Sofascore Rating and every bit of it. He saved seven shots, including the 17th-minute penalty from Yeboah, and posted four big saves. The model credits him with 1.65 goals prevented, underlining just how much he swung the result. He was proactive too, recording two accurate sweeper actions and eight recoveries.

His distribution held up under pressure with 28 of 36 passes completed and four accurate long balls. He kept cool as Venezia stacked 10 shots inside the box and peppered crosses into traffic. The penalty stop reset Lazio’s mindset, and the rest of his handling did the rest. When a keeper turns a 1.89 xG output into zero goals against, you usually leave with points. Lazio left with three.