Lazio are alone at the top of Serie A for the first time in 5,836 days after Andrea Pinamonti headed an 83rd-minute winner to complete a 2-1 comeback victory over Cagliari at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday, the Biancocelesti's sixth successive league win.
Cagliari stunned the Olimpico on 20 minutes when Alieu Fadera sprinted down the right, rode a lucky ricochet and pulled the ball back from the byline for M'Bala Nzola to tap in from point-blank range. It was the first time Lazio had trailed in a league game since matchday three, as Flashscore noted in its match report, and for a spell the leaders looked rattled.
The response took just 16 minutes. Tijjani Noslin combined with Kenneth Taylor and set up Gustav Isaksen, who swept a wonderful first-time finish into the far top corner from 13 yards. It was Isaksen's fourth goal in five games, and it preserved Lazio's record as the only Serie A side yet to trail at half-time this season.
Pinamonti settles a game Lazio refused to lose
Lazio pushed relentlessly after the break without finding the finish their play deserved. Taylor's free kick stung the gloves of Elia Caprile, Noslin could not keep a shot down from a tight angle and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru saw penalty appeals waved away. Isaksen, the game's outstanding player, then curled another effort off the inside of his left foot and skimmed it past the far post.
The breakthrough finally arrived on 83 minutes, in a move that summed up Lazio's refusal to settle. Alessandro Deiola was left dazed after charging down a Dele-Bashiru shot with his face, but play continued, Alfonso Pedraza acrobatically knocked back an Isaksen cross while falling, and Pinamonti nodded in from five yards. Football Italia described a side that simply would not be denied, and the Olimpico believed it too.
It got worse for Cagliari in stoppage time, when Adam Obert was sent off for a second yellow card after bringing down the impressive Isaksen. The Sardinians have now lost four successive matches, a run that has undone their strong start to the season, while Fadera's afternoon had already ended early when he pulled up with a hamstring problem shortly after setting up the opening goal.
So what does it mean?
Lazio are unbeaten after 10 games, with nine wins and one draw, and they sit three points clear at the summit. This was no isolated result: it followed the midweek 6-2 demolition of Sassuolo, their fifth straight win, on a weekend when Como kept up their own remarkable start by beating Venezia. The pressure now shifts to Turin tonight, where Juventus host Napoli in the game of the weekend knowing Lazio have already done their work. Win, lose or draw there, nobody in Italy can catch the Biancocelesti this weekend.
The deeper question is whether this squad can sustain it. Lazio crashed out of the Coppa Italia in the first round and have had to cope without Albert Gudmundsson, Nicolo Rovella and Adam Marusic, yet the wins keep coming and different players keep delivering them — Taylor against Parma last week, Isaksen and Pinamonti this week. That spread of match-winners is usually the mark of a side that lasts the distance.
Beyond the Final Whistle: Lazio are no longer the season's nice story — they are the team to beat. Six straight wins, unbeaten in 10 and three points clear is not a hot streak, it is a title challenge, and the rest of Serie A now has to prove it can live with their tempo, their depth and their belief. Can Lazio stay on top until Christmas? Let us know what you think in the comment section.
