Lazio bounced back from consecutive defeats to record a 3-2 win over Sassuolo at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome in Serie A.
Stefan Radu fired the Biancocelesti ahead with a long-range strike in the first half.
Sassuolo eqaulised after the break through Sergio Floccari's strike, before Miroslav Klose quickly restored Lazio's lead.
The visitors drew level again when Antonio Floro Flores fired in a free kick, but Antonio Candreva's goal seven minutes from the end sealed the three points for the home side.
Read how the action unfolded in our minute-by-minute text commentary below:
Good evening and thank you for joining Sports Mole for live text commentary of the Serie A match between Lazio and Sassuolo at the Stadio Olimpico.
Both teams come into this match in need of a lift after poor recent results. Lazio were beaten by Catania last weekend and suffered a shock defeat to Ludogorets Razgrad in the Europa League in midweek. Meanwhile, Sassuolo have lost their last five league games and have suffered defeats in 9 of their last 10 fixtures.
LAZIO XI: Berisha, Konko, Biava, Dias, Radu, Ledesma, Gonzalez, Candreva, Mauri, Lulic, Klose
SASSUOLO XI: Pegolo, Mendes, Cannavaro, Ariaudo, Rosi, Chibsah, Magnanelli, Biondini, Longhi, Floccari, Zaza
LAZIO SUBS: Marchetti, Strakosha, Novaretti, Cavanda, Cana, Ciani, Biglia, Onazi, Keita, Kakuta, Anderson, Perea
SASSUOLO SUBS: Pomini, Antei, Pucino, Bianco, Gazzola, Ziegler, Marrone, Missiroli, Farias, Floro Flores, Sansone, Berardi
TEAM NEWS: Lazio have made a number of changes following their midweek defeat in Europa, as Antonio Candreva, Stefano Mauri, Cristian Ledesma and Alvaro Gonzalez all return. Miroslav Klose leads the line for the hosts, but he has not found the back of the net since a 1-0 win over Inter Milan at the beginning of January. Sassuolo have left Domenico Berardi on the bench, as they partner Simone Zaza and former Lazio player Sergio Floccari in attack.
Lazio had begun life well under manager Edoardo Reja, having gone six league games unbeaten until last weekend's reverse against Catania. Defeat at home to Ludogorets in midweek has heaped more pressure on the head coach, and anything less than three points against Sassuolo will not be tolerated by the fans at the Stadio Olimpico.
The visitors will be desperate for something from tonight's match, after a dismal run of form. Their task has been made even more harder, as they have not claimed three points away in the league since beating Sampdoria in early November, in what has proved to be their only win on the road all season.
It has been a busy day already in the Italian top flight, and in the last few minutes Juventus have beaten city rivals Torino 1-0, thanks to a strike from Carlos Tevez. Elsewhere, AC Milan eased to a 2-0 win over Sampdoria and Inter Milan were frustrated at home by Cagliari in a 1-1 draw. There were wins for Hellas Verona and Chievo, while the match between Udinese and Atalanta ended level.
PREDICTION: Due to the recent form of both teams, I don't expect this game to be a free flowing attacking encounter. It will be tight and the key battle in the centre of midfield may well determine who comes out on top. There is no doubt that Lazio have the quality in their side to win this game, despite their lack of confidence, and I expect them to edge to a 1-0 victory.
It will be interesting to see what happens if the visitors were to get a goal early on. When they fell behind during their European match, the crowd really get on their backs and it clearly affected the way they played.
The players are making their way out onto the pitch, and we are not too far away from the start of the match.
KICKOFF! We are underway at the Stadio Olimpico!
YELLOW CARD! It has not taken long for us to see the first booking of the evening, as Francesco Magnanelli picks up a card for a high arm.
We are still yet to see a strike on goal, with Lazio enjoying the majority of the possession as they look to edge deeper into their opponents' half.
Over the last few minutes it is Sassuolo who have started to see more of the ball, but they are yet to pose an attacking threat. Their forward players Floccari and Zaza are both looking busy, as they try to work the Lazio full backs.
Chibsah shows good skill to get down the right hand side and his cross is forced behind for a corner. The visitors fail to make it count though, as the set piece is headed away after failing to beat the first man.
We finally see the first strike on goal of the match, as the ball drops kindly just outside the box for Gonzalez to hit, but he gets underneath the ball and fires a strike well over the bar.
Lazio start to show more attacking intent as they win two corner in quick succession, but their deliveries into the box are poor and the visitors clear the danger.
This game has been littered by overhit passes in the opening 20 minutes, and Radu's attempt at picking out Klose in the box travels all the way over to the right wing. Candreva manages to keep the move alive, before appearing to be fouled as he reached the byline, but to his surprise the referee felt that it was a fair challenge as he ran the ball out play.
CHANCE! Lazio create the first real opening of the match, as Lulic latches onto a long pass and keeps the ball in play. He manages to pull it back for Klose on the edge of the box, but his goalbound shot is blocked.
YELLOW CARD! Radu and Rosi are both carded after getting into an argument by the corner flag. The referee was quick to deal with the situation, and ensured that the players were dealt with quickly.
Radu has only just been booked, and he brings down Rosi as the midfielder bursts past him. That surely should have been a second yellow card, and Rosi made his feelings abundantly clear to the referee.
Lazio have begun to move up a gear and are starting to get more players involved in each attack. Their latest endeavor forward ends as Klose tries to lift a ball over the top to Candreva, but the midfielder is standing slightly offside.
Ledesma does well to win the ball in midfield and sees that Klose is in space, but his final pass lets him down, as it is far too strong for the German striker to latch onto.
GOAL! Lazio 1-0 Sassuolo (Radu)
Lazio have taken the lead, and it's an absolutely stunning goal. Radu comes in from the left and from fully 35-yards out from goal, he thumps in a wonderful shot that finds the top corner and leaves Pegolo grasping at thin air. That is his first goal in almost a year and has certainly been one worth waiting for.
The visitors will surely be fuming that Radu was still on the pitch, as he probably should have picked up a second yellow card just a few minutes ago. It seems that nothing is going their way at the moment.
As expected, Lazio have been dominant since scoring and look far more confident in their play. They will be hoping to make this good spell in the game count and possibly take a two-goal lead into half time.
There is going to be one minute of stoppage time at the end of the half.
HALF TIME: Lazio 1-0 Sassuolo
The first 45 minutes come to an end, with Lazio leading at half time. The Sassuolo players weren't too happy with the referee though, as they were on the attack when he decided to blow. Zaza was furious and ended up getting booked, after he kicked the ball away.
Lazio fully deserve their lead as they dominated the possession and looked to pose more of an attacking threat. Sassuolo have managed just one shot on target so far and desperately lack any real cutting edge in the final third.
Stefan Radu is the man who has found the back of the net this afternoon, and he is not renowned for his scoring abilities. Since joining the club in 2007, he has grabbed three goals previously for the club, all of which came during last season.
One man who could make a difference for the away side, is 19-year-old striker Domenico Berardi. He is on loan from Juventus and has scored 12 goals in Serie A this season, with many people tipping him for a call up to the Italy squad for this summer's World Cup.
The players are back out and the second half is just moments away.
We are back underway in Rome.
SUBSTITUTION: The visitors have made a change at the start of the second half, with Ziegler replacing Chibsah.
Sassuolo will have an early chance to get a number of their players into the box, as they win a free kick on the left hand touchline.
Magnanelli takes the set piece, but it is another poor delivery, and fails to beat the first man. That is such a waste for Sassuolo, who will struggle to get into better positions from open play.
Lazio are back on the attack and penning the visitors deep inside their own half. They win a corner which Candreva takes and is headed away at the front post. The ball comes back out to him and he does well to get to the byline, before drilling a low ball across the box that the visiting defence manage to scramble clear.
SUBSTITUTION: Lazio have been forced into a change, as Ciani comes on for the injured Dias.
CHANCE! The home side are inches away from doubling their lead, as Radu tries to score from range again but scuffs his shot. It falls kindly to Klose in the box, but the striker's effort takes a slight deflection before heading just wide of the post.
SUBSTITUTION: Sassuolo make their second change of the evening, as Berardi comes on to replace Zaza.
Lazio are still dominating this match, and the visitors are yet to have an attempt on goal in the second half. They will be hoping that the arrival of Berardi can change their fortunes in attack.
SUBSTITUTION: It is the home side's turn to make a change, with Biglia coming on for Mauri.
CHANCE! Berardi shows just why he is so highly regarded as he latches onto a deep cross from the left wing, before meeting the ball on the half-volley at the back post. He fires the strike into the ground, and it bounces up over Berisha and narrowly over the crossbar.
GOAL! Lazio 1-1 Sassuolo (Floccari)
The visitors have stunned the Stadio Olimpico. The ball is given away in the midfield to Berardi, who finds Magnanell down the left wing. He then plays a low ball across the box for the arriving Floccari to meet and finish into the corner of the net.
GOAL! Lazio 2-1 Sassuolo (Klose)
It has taken Lazio barely over a minute to regain their lead. Ziegler loses the ball in the centre of the pitch, with Gonzalez latching onto it. He comes forward and plays in Klose, who takes it in his stride, before calmly slotting the ball past Pegolo and into the net.
GOAL! Lazio 2-2 Sassuolo (Floro Flores)
Sassuolo have levelled the scores for the second time this evening, and it is a goal of the highest quality. They win a free kick 25 yards out from goal that Floro Flores steps up to place into the top left hand corner of the net and beyond the despairing dive of Berisha. This has been a spirited fightback from the visitors, who may well believe that they can take all three points now.
GOAL! Lazio 3-2 Sassuolo (Candreva)
What an incredible second half this has been! Radu whips in a cross from the left which seems to miss everyone and end up in the far corner of the net. The replays show that it looks to have taken a deflection of either Cannavaro or Candreva as they challenged each other in the box. Lazio won't mind how it's gone in, as they lead for the third time this evening.
That goal might have killed off any hopes that Sassuolo had of winning the match, but there is still just enough time for them to grab another equaliser, as they are seeing all of the ball at the moment.
Lazio are just trying to cling on to what they have now, and are making sure that every ball that comes their way is thumped out of play, giving the attackers no chance.
There is going to be four minutes of stoppage time. Will there be one final chance for Sassuolo?
Lazio give the ball away poorly in the centre of the pitch, and Berardi is slid through on goal, but Berisha does well to come rushing off his line and clear the danger.
The away side are throwing everything they have at Lazio and win a corner that Berisha punches clear. They end up getting the ball back into the box, but again the keeper does well to come and claim.
SUBSTITUTION: Lazio make a late change, with Onazi coming on for Gonzalez.
FULL TIME: Lazio 3-2 Sassuolo
The referee brings the game to an end, and Lazio have held on after a spirited Sassuolo fightback to earn a victory this evening. The fans have voiced their discontent at the home side, as loud boos echo around the ground for the second time this week.
Despite their efforts, Sassuolo have now lost their last six league games and are still rock bottom of the league. Lazio remain in 10th place, but join AC Milan on 35 points and close the gap on fifth-placed Inter Milan to five points.
That's all we've got time for here after an enthralling encounter at the Stadio Olimpico. Please stay with us for all of the latest results and news, but from me, it's goodnight.
Written by
Alex Meyers
Alex Meyers
