September 20, (THEWILL) – Lazio and Atletico Madrid played out an entertaining 1-1 draw in their opening UEFA Champions League group match on Tuesday night, with hosts’ goalkeeper, Ivan Provedel, the hero of the night.
The game saw end-to-end action and a stunning late equaliser from Provedel to give Lazio a share of the spoils. It started brightly for the home side, with Mattia Zaccagni and Luis Alberto both going close in the early stages. However, against the run of play, Atletico took the lead in the 29th minute courtesy of a wicked deflection off Pablo Barrios’ long-range strike.
Lazio struggled to recover after going behind and Ciro Immobile missed a gilt-edged chance to equalise when he was put through one-on-one. Atletico looked dangerous on the counter attack, with Antoine Griezmann firing over when well-placed.
As the game entered stoppage time, Lazio were still trailing but continued to push forward. Their pressure finally paid off when, from a late corner, Provedel rose highest to power home a header and snatch his side a point.
The dramatic late goal sparked wild celebrations amongst the Lazio players and fans. It leaves the group finely poised heading into Matchday Two. Lazio face an away trip to Monza in Serie A at the weekend, whilst Atletico host rivals, Real Madrid, in a huge Madrid derby clash.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
