Just like the first leg of this Europa League play-off, Lazio had taken the lead only to capitulate to Sergio Conceicao’s Porto, as their continental adventure ends for this season.
The Biancocelesti went into this second leg after a 2-1 defeat to the Toni Martinez brace. Ciro Immobile was available again after missing the last two matches with flu symptoms, while Pedro made a remarkable recovery to start. Francesco Acerbi and Manuel Lazzari were injured, with Mattia Zaccagni and Porto defender Wendell suspended.
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Immobile scuffed a finish on the counter that skimmed the far post, then had a goal ruled offside on 18 minutes.
Just moments later, he repeated practically the same move, timing his run perfectly onto a Sergej Milinkovic-Savic assist to sprint away from Pepe and fire low and hard into the near bottom corner, making it 2-2 on aggregate.
Immobile scuffed a finish on the counter that skimmed the far post, then had a goal ruled offside on 18 minutes.
Just moments later, he repeated practically the same move, timing his run perfectly onto a Sergej Milinkovic-Savic assist to sprint away from Pepe and fire low and hard into the near bottom corner, making it 2-2 on aggregate.
Immobile had another goal disallowed for a more obvious offside position just a couple of minutes after that.
Felipe Anderson nutmegged Pepe to force a corner, but there was controversy when the referee first booked Mehdi Taremi for what seemed to be an embarrassing dive, as he dragged his foot looking for contact with Milinkovic-Savic. However, he changed his mind and awarded a penalty after a VAR review, which Taremi converted.
Luis Alberto’s in-swinging corner was headed almost off the line, while after the restart Pepê turned a free header wide of the far post on a cross whipped in from the right.
Lazio also missed a huge opportunity, Luis Alberto turning wide on the knock-down from Milinkovic-Savic.
Thomas Strakosha needed a double save on Otavio’s scorcher first and then the Vitinha effort as a follow-up.
Patric nodded a corner over the bar from a very promising position, while Diogo Costa was right behind the Luis Alberto attempt and Strakosha flew to palm away the Galeno effort.
Porto took the lead with a really well-worked goal, Taremi dinking an inspired pass over the top for Matheus Uribe to chest and volley from eight yards.
The tension got to Lazio, who started to rack up yellow cards for dissent and time-wasting. Luis Alberto’s strike hit the wrong side of the net as it skimmed the near post, then went even closer moments later as a shot off the outside of the right boot thumped the upright.
There was another double chance, the goalkeeper flapping a Felipe Anderson cross off the foot of Raul Moro, then Luis Alberto on the rebound denied by a desperate Bruno Costa block.
Diogo Costa got a hand to the Milinkovic-Savic knockdown and used his face to charge down Immobile’s strike from point-blank range.
Lazio finally got their goal to equalise on the night in stoppages, as Immobile thumped the woodwork, but on the rebound laid it off for Danilo Cataldi to tap in.
Lazio 2-2 Porto (3-4 agg)
Immobile 19 (L), Taremi pen 31 (P), Uribe 68 (P), Cataldi 95 (L)
Pathetic performances from Napoli, Inter, Milan and Lazio in Europe. Only Juve and Atalanta left.