Big setback for Lazio Rome! The Romans met AZ Alkmaar in the first leg of the Conference League round of 16 on Tuesday. The third-placed team in the Italian championship lost 2-1 to the Dutch in front of their home crowd. The Serie A club even took a 1-0 lead at one point. However, this was subsequently lost. That leaves Lazio doomed to win the second leg at AZ Alkmaar on 16 March to at least secure an extra period.
Striker Pedro Rodriguez made a perfect start in the 18th minute at the Stadio Olimpico, the 35-year-old ex-Barcelona kicker completed the goal after a cross pass in the middle from around ten meters. Shortly before the half-time whistle, Vangelis Pavlidis (45′) equalized from a tight angle after a Karlsson cross. In return, Lazio’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was unlucky when Mathew Ryan hit the crossbar from a long-range shot. After the restart, Alkmaar’s left-back Milos Kerkez (62nd) became the match winner.
Seven more matches are scheduled for Thursday. Larnaka take on West Ham United, Anderlecht challenge Villareal and Sheriff Tiraspol meet Nice. In addition, Florence dueled with Sivaspor for promotion. FC Basel have Slovan Bratislava in front of them.KAA Gent meets Istanbul Basaksehir and Lech Poznan meets Djurgardens IF.