Lazio vs. AC Milan: Winners and Losers from Serie A
AC Milan handed Lazio their first home loss of the season with a dominant 3-1 win at the Stadio Olimpico in Serie A action on Sunday.
Andrea Bertolacci, Philippe Mexes and Carlos Bacca scored in the Rossoneri's third consecutive win. The victory boosted Milan into fifth place in the league table.
The defeat was a deflating blow to the hosts, who entered Sunday with a chance to jump into the top four ahead of their derby meeting with Roma in seven days.
Here's a look at our winners and losers from AC Milan's second road victory of the season.
Winner: Philippe Mexes
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Philippe Mexes put Milan ahead by two with his first touch of the game in the 52nd minute.
Mexes, who entered for the injured Alex, launched himself in the air and soared past a few defenders and goalkeeper Federico Marchetti before he nodded home Milan's second strike of the contest.
The goal came at a crucial time for the Rossoneri, who had just lost their rock on defense to an apparent head injury following a collision with Gianluigi Donnarumma on a Lazio free-kick.
During the final third of the match, Mexes was able to limit the chances of the Lazio attack, which is a good sign for Milan moving forward in case the Frenchman has to start in the near future.
Loser: Federico Marchetti
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Federico Marchetti had an awful day at the office, committing an error on each of AC Milan's three goals.
In the 25th minute, Marchetti made a beautiful save on a shot sent in by Alessio Cerci, but he deflected the ball straight into the path of Andrea Bertolacci, who easily finished the first goal of the match.
Marchetti was caught out in the air on Mexes' goal as he leaped too late in an attempt to clear the ball out of the penalty area.
On the third tally from the visitors, Marchetti came off his line and whiffed on his attempt to get the ball off the feet of Carlos Bacca.
Lazio will hope Sunday's performance in between the pipes is one Marchetti can get over fast since Roma loom on the fixture list in a week's time.
Winner/Loser: Andrea Bertolacci
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Andrea Bertolacci was the beneficiary of a goalkeeping error in the 25th minute on the opening goal of the match.
After Cerci played a shot on goal from the right wing, Marchetti deflected the ball straight into the path of Bertolacci near the left post.
Unfortunately for the midfielder, he could not complete the match as he pulled up lame on the left wing in front of the benches 10 minutes later.
Despite his short stint on the pitch Sunday, Bertolacci can take away plenty of positives from the match as his 25th-minute strike helped Milan clinch their second road victory of the Serie A campaign.
Loser: Miroslav Klose
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Miroslav Klose was quiet for the majority of his 90-minute shift at the top of the Lazio attack.
The prolific German forward had little impact on the match for the hosts, while the visitors were moving into the final third with ease thanks to the play of their forwards.
Klose's only key involvement came in the 71st minute, when he whipped in a free-kick from the left wing. The set piece was easily dealt with by Donnarumma as the Milan goalkeeper raced off his line and deflected it away from danger.
In order for Lazio to get a positive result out of their derby match with Roma next weekend, Klose must be more of a factor up top than he was against AC Milan.
Winner: Alessio Cerci
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While Klose laid an egg in attack at the Stadio Olimpico, Alessio Cerci did the opposite for the visitors.
Cerci was a constant force moving forward in the first half as the Rossoneri began to make their mark on the contest in the Italian capital.
Cerci's shot from the right wing in the 25th minute set up the deflected save that bounced to the feet of Bertolacci. Cerci was unlucky the find the back of the net 12 minutes later as he knocked a shot from a tight angle off the left post.
Cerci continued to surge ahead into the final third with success throughout the match, and although he didn't score, he helped his teammates open up the rest of the Lazio back line.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
