ROME: A last-gasp penalty by Ciro Immobile gave Lazio a 1-0 home win over Fiorentina at Stadio Olimpico on Monday, denying Vincenzo Italiano’s side a spot in the Serie A top four.

Lazio captain Immobile struck low into the left of the net in stoppage time, sending Fiorentina goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano the wrong way after Lazio were awarded a penalty when Fiorentina’s Nikola Milenkovic handled the ball.

Fiorentina are sixth in the standings on 17 points, one point behind champions Napoli in fifth and two less than fourth-placed Atalanta, who beat lowly Empoli 3-0 earlier on Monday.

Lazio, who won three consecutive home games in the competition for the first time since April, moved up to seventh in the standings on 16 points. Inter Milan lead the table with 25 points from 10 games.

“The match was tough, difficult, as was easily predictable,” Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri told Sky Sports.

“They perhaps did better than us in the first half, but in the second we legitimised the result because we created some scoring opportunities and conceded practically nothing.”

Fiorentina’s new signing Lucas Beltran thought he had given the visitors the lead with his first Serie A goal in the 13th minute but his effort was disallowed for a handball.

The 22-year-old Argen­tinian, who on Thursday scored twice against Serbian side Cukaricki in their 6-0 win in the Europa Conference League, hit the post with a towering header four minutes later.

Felipe Anderson had a great chance to open the scoring for Lazio just before the hour mark when he struck from close range but his shot was brilliantly saved by Terracciano.

“Naivety costs us dearly, we rack up another defeat and it makes me angry,” Italiano said. “We could have achieved much more in the last two games.”

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2023