Super Taylor drives Lazio to Serie A lead after Cagliari win

In Rome, Lazio, against all expectations, has after ten rounds of play reached the proud leader of Serie A. The victory over Cagliari gave the team of coach Gennaro Gattuso the ninth league win of the season, with an important role for Kenneth Taylor.

Taylor's influence at Lazio

Taylor made no direct contribution to the scoring, but Italian media regarded him together with goal scorer Gustav Isaksen as the standout at Lazio. The Rome‑based Corriere dello Sport gave the former Ajax player and Isaksen a rating of eight. "He let the chance for a certain goal slip, but it was his only mistake in a perfect match. He was everywhere and always chose the best option," the newspaper said.

Tuttosport praised Taylor, who less than a year after his arrival from Ajax is indispensable in Lazio's midfield and has already delivered two goals and two assists this season. The Turin sports newspaper recorded a score of seven for "Super Taylor" and named Tijjani Noslin as a deserving assist provider.

Gattuso's role and future

Thanks to the contribution of the two Dutchmen, Lazio can cautiously dream of their first league title since 2000. After ten rounds, the number of goals stands at 24, equal to the championship season, while in 2017/18 Lazio even scored 26 times. Moreover, it is the first time in sixteen years that the Biancocelesti are alone at the top of Serie A.

Defending champion Inter lost ground to AC Milan. Gattuso is praised as the architect of Italy's surprising leader. At the start of the season, after the cup embarrassment against Mantova, there were calls for the dismissal of the former Italy coach, but now the 48‑year‑old Gattuso receives the credit for Lazio's near‑flawless start to the season.

According to Tuttosport, the team carries the DNA of its coach. The victory over Cagliari was "stylistically less beautiful, but still showed maturity". For Gattuso it is a nice sporting revenge, after he missed the World Cup with Italy and had a few less successful club assignments. It wrote: "He silences the doubters and the critics for now". "It will do Rino Gattuso good, even if he will never admit it himself. Without arrogance and with modesty and amazement, Gattuso steps onto uncharted ground," the same newspaper said.

Gattuso remains modest, now that Lazio, against all expectations, sits at the top. "We still have twelve points to go to the forty points we set as our goal for this season," the former international replied. "We are better off not looking at the table, because that would make us dizzy. We must keep pushing, resting and then pushing again. If we don't do that, we become a completely ordinary team," he added.