Lazio's surprising run at the top of Serie A continued on Saturday, though not without a stumble, as Gennaro Gattuso's side surrendered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with AC Milan at the Stadio Olimpico. The result kept the Biancocelesti on top of the standings, at least until Roma and Inter played their own fixtures the following Monday, but the atmosphere inside the stadium told a more complicated story about the state of the club.
Lazio raced ahead through Matteo Cancellieri, who converted a Mattia Zaccagni cross in the 10th minute, before Tijjani Noslin doubled the advantage after a rebound off the crossbar. Zaccagni himself came close to a third, only to be denied by Mike Maignan. But Milan responded after halftime, sending on three substitutes including the club's €50m signing Diego Moreira, who scored twice to level the score and salvage a point for the visitors.
What made the occasion striking was not just the twist on the pitch but the near-empty stands surrounding it. Lazio fans have been staging an organized boycott of home matches in protest against club owner Claudio Lotito, and Saturday's crowd reflected that discontent. Season ticket sales have collapsed from roughly 30,000 last year to under 4,500, according to Calcio e Finanza, and Saturday's attendance was less than half of the 50,000 who turned out for the same fixture against Milan a year ago. Many of those present were vocal Milan supporters, giving the Olimpico an unusual atmosphere more befitting an away fixture for Lazio.
Before kickoff, hundreds of supporters gathered outside the club's training center and formed a moped convoy to accompany the team bus as far as Ponte Milvio, after which organized fan groups said they intended to watch the match elsewhere rather than enter the stadium. The boycott is tied to long-standing grievances against Lotito, who has owned the club for more than two decades without delivering a trophy in nearly seven years. An online petition earlier this year, signed by more than 45,000 people, criticized his stewardship, while additional controversy arose from his handling of a memorial event tied to Vincenzo Paparelli, a Lazio fan killed by a flare during a 1979 derby.
Lotito's outside business interests, including his time owning Salernitana and his more recent purchase of fourth-tier club Reggina, have added to supporters' frustrations, even though Lazio's transfer restrictions last summer stemmed largely from Italian football's liquidity requirements rather than ownership neglect alone. Those financial constraints forced the sale of several key players, including Taty Castellanos, Mattéo Guendouzi, Mario Gila, Alessio Romagnoli and Ivan Provedel, before the embargo was lifted and the club moved into the market again, bringing in Danilho Doekhi, Albert Gudmundsson and Davide Frattesi on productive terms.
Frattesi, on loan from Inter, has emerged as one of the season's most effective acquisitions, scoring in each of his first three appearances for the club before going quiet on Saturday. Zaccagni reflected on how different the match might have unfolded with a full house behind the team.