Como Women defeats Lazio 2-0 with goals by Picchi and Del Estal: Stefano Sottili's team secures second consecutive victory

The match between Lazio and Como Women was played at the "Mirko Fersini" stadium in Formello, valid for the third day of the first leg of the Serie A Femminile eBay Poule Salvezza. The Larians secured their second consecutive victory of the second phase by defeating Giammarco Fedeli's team, who was on the bench today in place of the suspended Grassadonia, 2-0 with goals from Picchi and Del Estal.

In the 7th minute, the first chance for Piemonte who, served by Le Bihan, finds herself one-on-one with Gilardi but fails to capitalise, being anticipated by the Larian goalkeeper with a low exit. Piemonte tries again in the 28th minute, challenging Gilardi with a low shot from an angled position, after surpassing Rizzon on the left.

Despite the Biancocelesti's push, in the 42nd minute, Como Women took the lead at the first real opportunity. A shot-cross from Guagni on the right is deflected onto the crossbar by Cetinja, but Picchi is swifter than all and slots the ball in from a few yards with an easy tap-in, thus giving Sottili's team the lead at halftime. For the midfielder, this is the first goal of the season in the league.

In the second half, Como Women defend orderly and control the match, with Lazio trying to increase the tempo and pressure. In the 59th minute, the home team tries with a crafted action, concluded with a right-footed shot by Le Bihan and deflected by Marcussen for a corner.

Sottili's girls remain in control of the match and later take advantage of a golden opportunity that arrives in the 75th minute: Del Estal, launched deep by a clearance from Gilardi, scores the second goal. For the Spaniard, this is the seventh goal in Serie A this season.

The match thus concludes with the victory of the Larians who rise to 28 points in the standings, overtaking the Biancocelesti at the top of the Poule Salvezza. The next engagement for Como Women will be Sunday, 23rd March at 3:00 p.m. against Sampdoria at the "Ferruccio" stadium in Seregno (MB).

Post-match comments

The match analysis by Stefano Sottili: "We were clinical, even though our opponents didn't have many chances. It was a game with few opportunities for both sides. They were coming off six consecutive positive results, including five wins and a draw, which was better than Juve recently. We played the game the right way: we couldn't afford to press higher as we did in the league. The girls did well to do the right things, with the right mindset and balance. I'm happy for Picchi, who found the goal against her beloved team, and Del Estal, who broke her personal goal record in one Serie A season. I'm sorry these victories are coming only now, but it's part of our growth journey. I've always said: it's fine like this. Let's take the good spirit they've shown and another game without conceding, which had been our issue recently."

The team's objectives: "The aim is to improve and achieve the best finish in Como Women's history. To do this, we need to exceed that milestone, the 32 points, and seventh place from last season. These are two objectives that go hand in hand, and we will try to achieve them for everyone's satisfaction."

The joy of Miriam Picchi, on her first league goal of the season and the match MVP: "It was a strong emotion. I'm happy to have contributed to this victory, we deserve it. We've worked a lot these weeks, committed ourselves, and took stock of the situation after the regret of not reaching the top five. I'm happy for the team, the club, and all of us. It was a difficult match because we faced a great team. We knew they were very dangerous in the penalty area and with long shots. They are a very equipped team, so we are really pleased to have brought home the result with ruthlessness."

Match summary

Lazio line-up: 1 Cetinja; 13 Oliviero (67’ Kajan), 7 Connolly (72’ Martinovic), 27 D'Auria, 14 Zanoli; 16 Castiello (46’ Reyes), 6 Eriksen, 10 Benoit (46’ Yang); 20 Simonetti, 11 Le Bihan; 18 Piemonte (46’ Visentin). Coach: Giammarco Fedeli

Available: 12 Karresmaa, 4 Mancuso, 25 Goldoni, 77 Cafferata.

Como Women line-up: 22 Gilardi; 3 Guagni (88’ Bou I Salas), 24 Rizzon, 11 Conc, 2 Marcussen; 19 Engman (54’ Bergersen), 21 Picchi, 20 Vaitukaityte; 7 Nischler, 33 Kramzar (80’ Karlernäs), 28 Kerr (54’ Del Estal). Coach: Stefano Sottili

Available: 4 Hansen, 12 Aprile, 13 Liva, 17 Sagen, 23 D’Agostino, 25 Marchiori, 30 Ruma.  

Scorers: 42’ Picchi (Como Women); 75’ Del Estal (Como Women)

Yellow cards: 66’ Oliviero (Lazio), 90’ Bergersen (Como Women)

Red cards: 0

MVP: Miriam Picchi

Referee and Assistants: Gabriele Totaro, Giuseppe Fanara, Giovanni Ciannarella and Bruno Tierno