Tudor's Touchline Tango: The Tottenham 'Arne' Mix-Up and Lazio's Last Stand

Igor Tudor, the Lazio boss, had a good laugh this week, clearing up that viral moment from Anfield. Remember him hugging Tottenham's technical director, Allan Dixon, on the touchline before Liverpool played Spurs? Everyone, and I mean *everyone*, thought he mistook Dixon for Arne Slot, the incoming Reds manager. Tudor himself admitted the internet had a field day with it. But no, he insists he knew exactly who he was embracing. Maybe.

Thing is, Tudor and Dixon have history. They worked together at Juventus back in 2020-21 when Tudor was Andrea Pirlo’s assistant. So the embrace was just two old colleagues bumping into each other. Still, the image of a bewildered Dixon and a beaming Tudor, with the world convinced the Lazio coach was greeting Slot, was pure gold. And Tudor, ever the character, even joked he might keep up the "Arne" hugs as a good luck charm. He’ll need all the luck he can get with Lazio right now.

**Lazio's European Dream Dangles**

Lazio's season has been a bit of a rollercoaster, especially since Tudor took over in March. They're sitting seventh in Serie A with 59 points, a single point behind Roma. That's a huge difference when you're scrapping for European spots. Remember, the top five in Italy get Champions League, and sixth gets Europa League. Seventh gets you the Europa Conference League, which, let's be honest, feels like a participation trophy for a club with Lazio's history. They finished second last year under Maurizio Sarri, racking up 74 points. This year has been a step back.

Tudor's got a decent record since replacing Sarri on March 18th, with five wins, two draws, and two losses in Serie A. They even beat Juventus 1-0 in his first league game in charge. But those two losses were critical: a 1-0 defeat to Roma in the Derby della Capitale on April 6th, and then a 2-0 loss to Empoli on May 12th. Those dropped points could very well cost them a higher finish. They also crashed out of the Coppa Italia semi-finals to Juventus, losing 3-2 on aggregate despite a valiant 2-1 win in the second leg at home. And Bayern Munich made short work of them in the Champions League round of 16, a 3-0 second-leg thrashing confirming a 3-1 aggregate exit.

Their final two Serie A games are massive. They travel to Inter Milan on May 19th, who have already wrapped up the Scudetto with 92 points. Then they host Sassuolo, who are fighting for their Serie A lives, on May 26th. Sassuolo are currently 19th with 29 points, two points from safety. This isn't some easy end-of-season stroll. Inter might be champions, but they won't want to lose at home. And Sassuolo will play like their lives depend on it.

Here’s my hot take: Lazio misses Ciro Immobile's prime goal-scoring touch. He's got just 7 league goals in 30 appearances this season, a far cry from his 27-goal golden boot campaign in 2019-20. The goals simply aren't there consistently enough from the main man. If he had even 12-15 goals, Lazio would likely be sitting pretty in fifth or sixth right now.

I predict Lazio will manage a draw against Inter, then narrowly beat Sassuolo. That’ll be enough to grab sixth place and secure Europa League football for next season. But it'll be a nervous finish.