His coach’s words were probably ringing in his ears when the ball left his boot.
Gustav Isaksen had not had the best of times at Lazio. The Italian club had bet on his potential when they bought the Danish international from FC Midtjylland last year, but had only managed to get him into Maurizio Sarri’s squad because of other injuries. Igor Tudor arrived and sidelined him completely, and Isaksen was on the verge of a move to Celtic this summer before giving up and choosing to fight under Lazio’s new coach, Marco Baroni.
Baroni oversaw an astonishing transformation at the club, coping with the departure of talismanic striker Ciro Immobile by bringing in youth and forging a system that made the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Lazio went on a run of seven consecutive wins that put them firmly in the running for the Serie A title, before stumbling to a defeat against Parma. Isaksen could have turned the game in his team’s favour, but failed to convert, prompting his coach to throw him a challenge before a crucial title clash against Napoli.
‘He can be more decisive, he knows that too. He played a good game against Parma. He had an opportunity he should have taken advantage of. He has quality, I’m convinced he can make the ‘click’ that can make the difference in terms of scoring.’ Click? Decisive? After 78 minutes of a tight game against Napoli that is swinging both ways, Isaksen finally got his chance.
Tijjani Noslin has the ball behind the halfway line and has three Napoli players closing in on him. Lazio are starting a transition, but no player is ahead or even on a par with Noslin. Isaksen realises that his team-mate has no outlet and starts to run, on the right side of the pitch.
Stanislav Lobotka meanwhile is doing exactly what a defensive midfielder in an Antonio Conte team should be doing. He approaches Noslin and makes a nuisance of himself, only to be cleared by the Dutch Lazio striker as if he didn’t exist. Noslin leaves Lobotka behind and looks up. He has only one pass at his disposal: Isaksen is making a full forward run. Everyone on the pitch knows what Noslin is about to do.
The Dutchman won’t be rushed, he takes his time to measure the pass and although four men in Neapolitan blue are closing in on him, the ball comes off his foot with the perfect angle and pace. When the ball leaves his boot and is in the air, Noslin is hit by two Napoli players, but no matter, his job is done.
Isaksen, however, still has a lot to do. Nilson’s diagonal cross evades Mathias Olivera perfectly and bounces past him, allowing the Dane to collect the ball first.
The Napoli left-back put too much forward momentum into trying to reach the ball and was left for dead when Isaksen moved the ball inside with his left foot on his first touch.
The crowd in the Maradona Stadium is silent for half a second. Isaksen touches again to steady himself as the ball travels along the line of the penalty area. Olivera senses he can turn back to stop the shot and dives to block it. Too late. The Danish winger barely waits after his second touch and lets it fly with his third.
The ball squirts from his laces, past Alex Meret’s desperate dive into the Napoli goal and not even the rain from heaven can stop it diving into the crossbar.
Maradona is stunned, Meret gestures towards the sky in anguish, ten men in black Lazio shirts converge on the goalscorer, who slips to his knees in the pouring rain: Isaksen has just answered his coach’s call with a decisive finish.
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