With these two having one win in total between them since 13th December, it was perhaps no surprise that it took nearly 20 minutes for the first real chances to arrive.
Lecce’s Lassana Coulibaly ran onto a loose ball and powered a first-time hit from 25 yards towards the bottom corner, forcing a full-stretch save from Ivan Provedel, before Santiago Pierotti fired the follow-up attempt over.
Those efforts set the tempo for the rest of the half, which saw the Giallorossi have the greater share of possession and territory, though they failed to really threaten again until the 39th minute, when Ylber Ramadani let fly from 25 yards and cannoned the ball off the crossbar with Provedel beaten.
The home side’s chances may have been few and far between, but they were much more productive than Lazio, who failed to have a single shot before the break.
Having waited 45 minutes for one shot, Maurizio Sarri’s side registered two in the first two second-half minutes, albeit both were easily blocked, yet the same couldn’t be said for their next chance, when Boulaye Dia latched onto a Mattia Zaccagni through ball, and Wladimiro Falcone had to react smartly to smother his poked strike. Come the midpoint of the half, momentum appeared to be switching back to the home side, as Ramadani and Walid Cheddira both tried their luck from distance but failed to trouble Provedel.
However, the visiting goalkeeper was called upon to bat away a drilled free-kick from Riccardo Sottil 16 minutes from time, which looked to be the final genuine chance at either end until Kenneth Taylor narrowly missed the target from 20 yards following a free-flowing move from Le Aquile. Eusebio Di Francesco’s side held on for just a second clean sheet in 11, which lifts them out of the relegation zone. Meanwhile, Lazio have conceded just once in their last four away matches, despite losing further ground on the top six.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ylber Ramadani (Lecce)
