Nigeria international Fisayo Dele-Bashiru provided an assist as Lazio thrashed 10-man Sassuolo 6-2 to go top of the Serie A on Tuesday.
Dele-Bashiru, who was named among the substitutes, was introduced before the start of the second half.
It was a wild game of eight goals, a red card and two missed penalties, as Lazio made it eight wins from nine and extended their unbeaten start to the season.
Lazio led after just two minutes when Dutch midfielder Kenneth Taylor swept home after Isaksen’s cross was intercepted. VAR checked for a long time before awarding it.
Sassuolo hit back immediately as Kristian Thorstvedt equalised in the 7th minute with a first-time finish from Josh Doig’s pass to make it 1-1.
In the 13th minute Gustav Isaksen made it 2-1 then just two minutes later Romano Floriani Mussolini got Lazio’s third, netting his first ever Serie A goal.
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The turning point came in the 31st minute when Thorstvedt, who had scored Sassuolo’s equaliser, was shown a straight red card for a horror tackle on Mattia Zaccagni.
Sassuolo pulled one back in the 43rd minute through Sebastiano Esposito to make it 3-2, but Mattia Zaccagni restored Lazio’s two-goal cushion on the stroke of half-time, heading in a cross to make it 4-2.
Despite Zaccagni missing his penalty five minutes into the second half Tijjani Noslin made it 2-5 with a curling finish before Dele-Bashiru set up Noslin who completed his brace with a rocket from the edge of the box on 61 minutes to secure a 6-2 win.
Lazio move to 25 points and are three points clear of Inter, who visit bottom club Venezia on Wednesday.
This is the first time Lazio have gone unbeaten in their first nine games since 1999-2000, when they last won the Scudetto.
By James Agberebi
