Mario Balotelli criticised Lazio fans after offensive chants towards the former Brescia striker caused play to be briefly stopped in the Serie A clash.
Balotelli gave his side the lead against Lazio but the game was held up while an announcement was made to fans that reportedly warned against further discriminatory chanting.
And after the 2-1 defeat, Balotelli posted on Instagram: “It’s a loss that hurt but we will come back stronger and we are on the right way! Lazio fans that were today at the stadium SHAME ON YOU! #saynotoracism”.
Lazio later released a statement that read: “As always, Lazio dissociates in the most taxing way from the discriminatory behaviour carried out by a very small minority of fans during the match against Brescia.
“The club once again reiterates its condemnation of such unjustified misconduct and confirms its intent to prosecute those who in fact betray their sporting passion, causing serious damage to the image of the club.”
Ciro Immobile’s stoppage-time winner secured Lazio a ninth straight league win.
He scored from the spot after Andrea Cistana saw red to equalise before half-time and then scored the winner in the first minute of added time.
Lazio are four points clear of city rivals Roma after they were beaten 2-0 by Torino.
Andrea Belotti scored in first-half stoppage time before he completed the scoring from the spot with four minutes left.
Elsewhere in Serie A, Genoa secured a first league win since October as Goran Pandev’s late winner saw off Sassuolo 2-1.
😱 GORAN PANDEV WITH A LATE GOAL FOR GENOA! 😂 What a piece of luck for the veteran striker as the ball ricochets back off his face and into the empty Sassuolo net! pic.twitter.com/IvySTiFrZO — Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) January 5, 2020
Domenico Criscito’s 29th-minute penalty was cancelled out by Pedro Obiang.
But Pandev earned a rare home win for his relegation-battling team when his initial effort was saved but the ball bounced back off the forward’s face and found the back of the net.
Verona ended a three-match winless run by beating 10-man SPAL 2-0.
Giampaolo Pazzini opened the scoring in the 14th minute before the relegation battlers had Nenad Tomovic sent off in the 38th minute.
The hosts eventually made the most of their numerical advantage when Mariusz Stepinski struck with five minutes left.
In Spain, Real Sociedad failed to put pressure on LaLiga’s top four as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat at home to Villarreal.
#RealSociedadVillarreal | 1-2 🚨 74' | ¡GOOOOOOOL! ¡GOOOOOOOOL! ¡GOOOOOOOOOOOOL! ¡GOOOOOOOOOOOOL DEEEEEEEL SUUUUUUUUBMAAAAAAAARIIIIINOOOOOOOOOOO! ¡GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL DE @19SCazorla! pic.twitter.com/HkhB0FSzYb — Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) January 5, 2020
Willian Jose gave the hosts a 22nd-minute lead to put them on course for a win that would have taken them to within a point of the Champions League places.
But Manu Trigueros’ 58th-minute penalty levelled the game before former Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla scored the winner with 18 minutes left.
Villarreal’s third straight league win moved them up to ninth – and just three points behind their opponents.
Celta Vigo moved out of the relegation zone despite being held to a 1-1 draw at home by Osasuna.
Santi Mina gave Celta the lead with 15 minutes left but Ezequiel Avila responded within eight minutes.
Real Mallorca slip into the bottom three after losing 1-0 at Granada while mid-table duo Alaves and Real Betis played out a 1-1 draw.
