News about Mattia Zaccagni

Pedro has shown he still has a wand of a left foot after the former Chelsea and Barcelona forward curled home a sensational goal in Lazio's Europa League thrashing of Nice. The World Cup winner made his name with the Spanish giants as part of an all-conquering team which scooped up three Champions League trophies and five La Ligas. Pedro then made the switch from Catalonia to west London in 2015 and proved a hit at Stamford Bridge, scoring 43 goals in 206 matches and playing a part in Premier League and Europa League-winning sides. In 2020, the magician headed to Italy where he initially donned the red of Roma before completing a controversial move to their bitter rivals Lazio three years ago.

There were own goals and wonder goals. There were script-changing late goals. Records were shattered, hearts broken and noses busted in the group stage of Euro 2024. There were bright shiny newbies and great golden oldies. Unlikely heroes burst from the fringes. There were pink kits and pretzels, armies of tartan, invasions of orange. Blaring car horns of late-night celebration, doner kebabs and mighty steins of ale.

German police are believed to be investigating an incident which saw a Croatia fan bitten by another supporter in a fight for Luke Ivanusec's match shirt, according to reports. Zlatko Dalic's side saw their hopes of making it through the group stages at Euro 2024 all but snuffed out on Monday evening, after Italy's Mattia Zaccagni's added time equaliser cancelled out Luka Modric's opener moments before time. Croatia will now have to keep a close eye on the best-placed teams currently third in their group, after defeat to Spain and a draw with Albania left the side with just two points. 

The defending champions guaranteed their spot in the last 16 of the competition on Monday with an equaliser deep into stoppage time of the game, all-but-knocking their opponents out in the process. Mattia Zaccagni's fine goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time took Italy to four points from their three group games, following a win over Albania in their opener before defeat by Spain to follow it up. The strike triggered ecstatic scenes from the Italy players as they chased down Zaccagni, substitutes included, who performed a knee slide before being bundled by his team-mates.

Croatian model, Ivana Knoll, who was dubbed the World Cup's 'sexiest fan' in Qatar, has expressed her disappointment on Instagram after Croatia's hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of Euro 2024 were left hanging by a thread. Her side were held to an agonising draw by Italy on Monday night, after Mattia Zaccagni's equaliser in the eighth minute of injury time cancelled out Luka Modric's second-half strike that put Croatia ahead. Had Croatia managed to hold on, they would have finished above Italy in Group B and booked their spot in the knockout stages. 

His very presence in the Azzurri squad had the potential to drive the team apart due to a 'love triangle' between him, fellow Italy star Nicolo Zaniolo, and his influencer wife. Zaccagni is married to Chiara Nasti, an Instagram model and former girlfriend of Italian international Zaniolo, who was on loan at Aston Villa last season from Galatasaray. Zaniolo was left out of Italy's squad for the Euros and there have been rumours of tension between him and Zaccagni in the past. Nasti, who has two million followers on Instagram, split up from Zaniolo in April 2021 and began dating Zaccagni.

A furious Luciano Spalletti has raged at a journalist following Italy's last-gasp 1-1 draw against Croatia over fears he may have a 'mole' in his camp.  Spalletti also hit out at his side's critics during his post-match press conference after Italy secured their spot in the knockout stages of the competition, finishing second in Group B. The defending champions had looked to be heading for a third-place finish after Luka Modric gave Croatia a 1-0 lead in the second half. But Spalletti's side hit back late on, with Mattia Zaccagni curling in a late strike to secure a berth in the last 16.

Had Italy lost 1-0, they would have finished third in Group B with three points and a minus one goal difference, with the jeopardy of potentially being knocked out. But Lazio winger Zaccagni stepped up to secure qualification and break Croatian hearts - leaving their hopes hanging by a thread - while earning comparisons to a fabled Italian striker.

Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer believe Italy have little chance of defending their title at Euro 2024 after they edged into the last-16 thanks to an unconvincing 1-1 draw with Croatia on Monday night. Italy fell behind 10 minutes into the second half after Luka Modric scored for Croatia just 32 seconds after having his penalty saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma. Luciano Spalletti's men huffed and puffed for an equaliser after that, and finally got it when substitute Mattia Zaccagni found the far corner with a curling effort in the 98th minute.

Italy manager Luciano Spalletti lashed out at his players after they needed a 98th-minute equaliser to rescue a 1-1 draw against Croatia on Monday night. The defending champions looked to be heading for a third-placed finish in Group B, leaving them facing an anxious wait to learn their fate, but Mattia Zaccagni curled home a last-gasp effort to cancel out Luka Modric's opener. That sealed Italy's place in the knockout stages, but Spalletti was far from happy with his side's display. The 65-year-old switched to a 3-5-2 formation for the game in Leipzig after previously playing a 4-3-3 in the group, but insisted his team played so poorly that it didn't matter which system he used.

CROATIA 1-1 ITALY - MATT BARLOW IN LEIPZIG: Italy were beat. Eight minutes into eight minutes of stoppage time, they were trailing to Croatia and had barely looked like scoring a goal all night. Then one last attack. The ball was carried out of defence and slid wide to Mattia Zaccagni on the left. Zaccagni, who had not come on until the 81st minute, when Luciano Spalletti started to throw on all the forwards he could find on the bench, cut inside on to his right foot, went for goal and curled a shot beyond the dive of Dominik Livakovic. Everyone inside the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig held their breath as it sailed into the net. Then the Italian element of the crowd, outnumbered and with little to shout about all night, erupted.

Mattia Zaccagni converted a penalty for Lazio in the 51st minute after Taty Castellanos was fouled by Roma defender Dean Huijsen in a drab first half at Stadio Olimpico. After receiving two yellow cards in two minutes, Lazio forward Pedro was dismissed in the sixth minute of stoppage time. Romelu Lukaku had almost equalized for Roma moments a few days ago, but his acrobatic, overhead kick went over the bar. Sardar Azmoun, a Roma player, was given a straight red card for essentially slapping Lazio midfielder Nicolo Rovella on the back of the head, though teammate Gianluca Mancini was given his marching orders for disobeying after the final whistle.

On Tuesday night, Italy's Euro 2023 qualifying campaign returned to track, but Nicolo Zaniolo and Mattia Zaccagni's celebrations may have been tipid. The pair were drafted in the Azzurri's starting XI for the 2-1 victory over Ukraine at the San Siro, with the Aston Villa forward making several changes from the team that drew 1-1 with North Macedonia on Saturday. Zaccagni, on the other hand, retained his position after winning his third international cap for Italy.

As Lazio's side consolidated second position in Serie A, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Mattia Zaccagni scored, Lazio's home win 2-1, five ahead of AS Roma in third with nine games remaining in the season. Juve, who are competing for a spot in the top six, are ranked seventh, four points behind Atalanta, who occupy the final European qualification position. Lazio, boosted by their enthusiastic followers in the stands, took over the game in the first minutes, threatening to score through Milinkovic-Savic and Ciro Immobile.

Serie A saw plenty more twists and turns over the weekend in Italy as Serie A saw many more twists and turns. Juventus won a crucial match against Champions League quarter-finalists Inter Milan, Lazio defeated Roma and AC Milan were defeated 3-1 by Udinese. Sportsmail delves into Serie A's weekend action, bringing you ten things we learned.

After Maurizio Sarri's side barely escaped a 1-0 victory in an exciting derby at the Stadio Olimpico, Roma boss Jose Mourinho and Lazio owner Claudio Lottito reportedly locked horns in a tumultuous bust-up on Sunday. Lazio's second-half victory gave the Italian top flight a five-point lead over their bitter rivals. Roger Ibanez, the Roma star, was sent off for his second bookable offence midway through the first half, and the referee was forced to give Bryan Cristante and Lazio defender Adam Marusic at full throttle during the bad weather.

After a tumultuous incident on the sideline a few minutes later, Roma's Roger Ibanez was sent off with his second booking in the 32nd minute, and there were more red cards, one for each team's coaching staff. Maurizio Sarri's team, who also won the derby in the first half of the season, made the most of the opportunity in the 65th minute by slipping through the defense and curling in a low shot.

In a Serie A clash on Tuesday night, Lazio cruised to an emphatic 4-0 win over AC Milan. After Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Mattia Zaccagni struck, Maurizio Sarri's side converted a two-goal lead into halftime. In the second half, Luis Alberto and Felipe Anderson doubled the scoreline. The result places the hosts up to third place in the Italian top flight, just one point behind the visitors.

The 13th matchday of the Serie A season and the penultimate weekend of action before the World Cup break were full of anticipation. Lazio won the local bragging rights in the derby with Roma, Juventus dominated Inter Milan 2-0, and Napoli defeated Atalanta to keep their unbeaten streak going. ALVISE CAGNAZZO of Sportsmail is back with the main talking points from another packed weekend in Italy.

ALVISE CAGNAZZO: Napoli maintained their dominance of Serie A football with a 1-0 victory over Roma's Jose Mourinho. AC Milan maintained their momentum after a 4-1 loss to Monza, while Juventus thrashed Empoli 4-0, resurgently from the top of the table. Alvise Cagnazzo of Sportsmail looks at ten things we learned from this weekend's participation in Serie A.

With a 2-0 win over Gian Piero Gasperini's side on Sunday, Lazio defeated Atalanta in the Serie A table. Mattia Zaccagni and Felipe Anderson were on the scoresheet for the visitors, who extended their streak without conceding a single point in Serie A to six games. Luis Muriel was sent back deep into stoppage time to rub salt into the wounds of the home side's swollen body, who now sits fourth in the Serie A table, but lost out on the chance to finish first.

Since a 4-0 victory over Fiorentina at the Artemio Franchi Stadium, Lazio have climbed to third place in Serie A. Maurizio Sarri's side got off to a good start, eventually taking the lead through midfielder Matias Vecino who headed the ball in at the near-post from Mattia Zaccagni's corner after 11 minutes. Zaccagni converted goalscorer as he doubled Lazio's lead after 25 minutes with a brilliant header from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's cross. Luis Alberto made it three minutes before time before Ciro Immobile took the field in injury-time.

In Saturday's evening kick-off, Napoli defeated Lazio 2-1, taking them up to 11 points and ahead of AC Milan on goal difference. Mattia Zaccagni had a lead, but Min-Jae Kim came from a corner before halftime, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia struck on the hour to complete the turnaround. With their victory over Lazio, Napoli climbed back into first place over Milan, securing their top spot.

Felipe Anderson, Luis Alberto, and Pedro of Lazio won a 3-1 home win over Inter Milan, who finished third in Serie A on Friday as the visitors dropped their first points of the season on coach Simone Inzaghi's return to his old club. In the 40th minute at the Stadio Olimpico, Lazio had two fantastic chances through captain Ciro Immobile and a third from striker Mattia Zaccagni before Anderson, who was flawlessly set up by Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, put the hosts ahead with a header. Denzel Dumfries, a defender, threw the ball to the unidentified Lautaro Martinez, who scored from close range in the 51st minute, equalizing the visitors.