Lazio had to stay focused in Liguria as a Spezia side with something to fight for initially made it difficult for Maurizio Sarri’s side in their 3-0 win.
The home side entered the weekend sitting just four points ahead of 18th place Hellas Verona, piling the pressure on in the final stages of this season. For Sarri’s side, Champions League qualification is in sight, pushing them to fight tooth and nail for every possible point.
The Aquilotti, under the guidance of relegation battle expert Leonardo Semplici, did not lie down for the Biancocelesti and gave them a number of scares across the 90 minutes, hitting the crossbar just minutes into the match.
Spezia looked the more positive of the two sides in the first half but things took a dark turn for the Aquilotti in the 33rd minute, when Ethan Ampadu slide in to try and steal the ball from a charging Felipe Anderson, bringing down the Brazilian.
Referee Massimiliano Irrati pointed to the penalty spot and a brief VAR check followed, failing to make things clear either way, so the decision stood.
Ciro Immobile made no mistake from 12 yards out, comfortably slotting the ball in the bottom corner to put Lazio 1-0 up.
Spezia tried to find an equaliser in the remaining 15 minutes of the half, but their efforts were in vain as the Biancocelesti held on to their advantage going into the break.
Lazio started the second half a little slowly but soon kicked into gear and found a vital second goal, with Felipe Anderson finishing a complicated attacking move in the 52nd minute to make it 2-0 to the away side.
Ethan Ampadu’s night ended early after picking up a second yellow card following a reckless challenge on Mattia Zaccagni, capping off a miserable night for the Welshman.
The evening was capped off by a wonderful goal from Marcos Antonio, who sprinted down the Spezia half on the break in the dying minutes of the match, running past Bartlomiej Dragowski to slot it in the back of the net, making it 3-0.
It was another important win for Lazio, who are now only weeks away from securing a return to the Champions League.