A goal in each half by Ederson and Eddy Onazi secured a resounding away win for Lazio in their first leg of the Europa League clash against Stuttgart.

Lazio made their second trip to Germany in the Europa League after disposing of Bussia Monchelgladbach earlier in the competition. The Biancocelesti aimed to keep their unbeaten European record alive but had come off a huge 3-1 league defeat to AC Milan last weekend. They were still without the injured Miroslav Klose and coach Vladamir Pektovic decided to start Sergio Floccari and Christian Ledesma from the bench. With Lazio being unable to field their German International, Stuttgart however handed a start to former Lazio youth team player Federico Macheda. Stuttgart has been surprisingly poor at home in the Europa League this season, with three draws and one defeat.

After a tentative start by both teams the first chance of the game fell to Stuttgart in the 10th minute. A cross by Macheda was met with a diving header by Shinji Okazaki which required an excellent reaction save from Ferderico Marchetti. Despite Stuttgart’s early possession it was Lazio that took the lead after poor defending by the home team. A loose ball fell to Ederson who showed strength and technique to finish with a left footed volley in the bottom corner of the net.
The Biancocelesti made it 2-0, ten minutes into the second half. A strong run from the half way line, saw 20 year old Nigerian, Onazi skip past a few challenges before calmly finishing past Sven Ulreich in goal.

Stuttgart continued to enjoy a decent amount of possession in the second half but were unable to break down Lazio. Pektovic’s men provided a well-disciplined and organised rear guard display. Added to the solid defensive play, Lazio played on the counter attack with pace. They looked threatening every time they approached the opponent’s penalty box. Hernanes was at the centre of all things good about Lazio and the Brazilian provided the catalyst for most of Lazio’s counter-attacks. Pektovic’s versatile midfield provided excellent cover for the organised back four and also allowed the Biancocelesti to attack with pace.

Stuttgart managed to conjure up a few half chances which all fell to Onkazaki. The Japanese midfielder was sharp while the Roman Mechada made a largely disappointing return to his homeland. Mecheda failed to trouble the Lazio defence and was substituted late in the game.

#Lazio‘s stellar form in Europe continues, still undefeated after 9 games, 4 draws and 4 wins before tonight and currently 0-2 v Stuttgart

— Owen Neilson (@OwenNeilson) March 7, 2013

The game ended 2-0 and Lazio now take a commanding lead into the second leg tie in Rome. This impressive away victory provides them with impetus heading into the weekends clash with Fiorentina. With the race for the third and final Champions League spot tightly contested in Serie A, Lazio will look to transfer their European form into the league. Only two points and one place separate the Biancocelesti from La Viola in the Serie A standings. Besides the race for third spot, Lazio will be looking for revenge after the 2-0 loss in the reverse fixture in October 2012.

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Additional words from the twitter community

In better news, I’m pleased as a fan of Serie A to see both #Inter & #Lazio taking the EL so seriously. A credit to themselves & the league

— Adam Digby (@Adz77) March 7, 2013