Espanyol 2-0 Lazio, but no reason to worry

Yesterday Lazio lost 2-0 in a friendly against Espanyol for the Trofeo Ciutat de Barcelona. The match was not pretty, especially the ways in which Lazio gave up the goals and nearly gave up a few more, but it was clear that this was being played as an experimental match. Delio Rossi, without Rocchi (at NT duty), Pandev (just resting), and Oddo (also at NT) decided to start a creative 4-5-1 lineup and see how it fared:

Peruzzi
Belleri-Cribari-Siviglia-Zauri
Foggia-Ledesma-Bonetto-Mudingayi-Quadri
Makinwa

Foggia looked very promising on the wing, but couldn't make plays through the overpacked midfield, and there were very few opportunities to pass ahead with only Makinwa striking. Lazio went behind 1-0 near the end of the first half when the entire back line took a brief nap during an Espanyol set piece. When Rossi started making substitutions, it became clear that he was treating this as solely an exhibition match. Greco, Firmani, Baronio, Casini, Capogna, De Silvestri, and most surprisingly of all, 3rd string keeper Berni all saw action. Lazio did mount one last push in the 90th minute which cost them the counterattack and Espanyol's second goal. None of the players or coaches seemed troubled by this fact, so late in the game. The expiriment may have not been successful, but it was a necessary step on the path towards Milan on September 10.

Look for a more conventional Lazio line against Anderlecht on Sunday (Anderlecht is in Champions group stage after all, so Rossi really needs to put forth his best team possible), and the biancocelesti stars ready to come off the bench against Lithuania this afternoon in Napoli.