14/03/2003

INZAGHI RETURNS TO SINK BESIKTAS

Lazio striker Simone Inzaghi marked his return from a one-month layoff with a fractured wrist by scoring the winner in their 1-0 win over Turkey's Besiktas in their UEFA Cup quarter-final first leg in Rome on Thursday.

The striker, who came on as a second half substitute, needed just six minutes to latch on to an Enrico Chiesa pass and fire a low shot past Besiktas keeper Oscar Cordoba.

The 56th-minute goal breathed life into what, until then, had been a subdued encounter in which the home side had enjoyed by far the better chances without converting.

Lazio started brightly and in the 12th minute striker Enrico Chiesa slipped a pass between the legs of defender Ahmet Yildirim that narrowly failed to reach Claudio Lopez, alone in front of keeper Oscar Cordoba.

The Italians' midfielder Nikola Lazetic missed one of the best chances of the first half in the 14th minute, volleying wide at the far post after latching on to a Cesar cross.

At the other end there was no sign of the defensive leaks that characterised Lazio's last UEFA Cup home fixture -- the 3-3 fourth-round draw against Polish side Wisla Krakow.

[LazioMania.net]