Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri highlighted the difficulty of the 0-0 draw against Olympique Marseille last night.
As collected by Italian media outlet LazioNews24 last night, the 62-year-old Italian coach first discussed the match in an interview with Sky Sports Italia.
We played a good game against a good team. In the first 30 minutes we lacked brilliance, while in the last 30 minutes a bit of luck.
We believed in it until the end, raising the pace a lot. We’re sorry for the result, but there are still three games to go.
The Lazio coach suggested that the team cannot contain both Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Luis Alberto at the same time.
At the moment we cannot afford Luis Alberto and Milinkovic-Savic together. We’ve seen that Luis is better suited when the pace drops.
Then when we improve in the defensive phase, evaluations can be made.
Sarri noted the lack of the Biancocelesti’s consistency.
Even in the past this team has had problems with consistency. But this is a squad that works hard in training.
With this prerogative you can solve everything. And that’s how we can reach 100%.
He spoke about the qualities of Italian midfielder Danilo Cataldi.
He is a good dribbler, but also Lucas is an important player for personality and mentality, and then he is fundamental in the defensive phase.
The Lazio coach noted the difficulty of playing every three or four days.
We don’t train as much as we used to, playing every three days, and this certainly has an impact.
The 62-year-old Italian coach did not have any thoughts about Roma’s 6-1 loss to Bodø/Glimt.
I didn’t see the game and I don’t know what formation was lined up, but I can say that in Europe there are no easy, simple games.
Sarri then discussed the game in an interview with Lazio Style Radio.
In the initial phase we paid for our lack of brilliance, both physical and mental. But slowly we have grown and the intent has grown out of all proportion, until the last 25/30 minutes.
We are sorry for the result, but this performance is a step forward, we deserved something more.
He refused to entertain the idea that the team were particularly physical.
Ours is not a fouling team, neither for the way we play nor for the players. There’s a big difference between aggressiveness and malice, we can do better on the latter.
The problem is that between one sector and another we lose some pressure, but we are making progress, the concern is not to fall back on empty passes.
We have to lose on the pitch when we lose.
The Lazio coach highlighted the team’s need to improve defensively.
We have to improve a lot, I would like to be able to work more. I was pleased with a good Marusic on the left, a central pair that did very well defensively but could do better in build up.
However, the road is the right one.
He looked ahead to the next game against Hellas Verona on the weekend.
For us it’s a reckoning, we come from a game in which we failed in the most absolute way. We did well in two games, it’s a litmus test.
Of course, we’re in a bad shape, playing in the afternoon is extremely difficult. But we like being in Europe, it was nice when we played on Mondays but this is the story now.
The league does not decrease the number of matches, not even UEFA, in South America they increase… And there is no more room.
It amazes me that the Italian Footballers Association and the Coaches Association have never taken a position. A schedule that is becoming impossible and also ugly in terms of television.
Finally, Sarri commented on the team’s goalless draw against Olympique Marseille whilst speaking to gathered reporters in a press conference.
The team’s performance and solidity were good. We played against a quality team, we are left with the regret for the result.
We still have a good performance that gives us continuity and confidence for the next matches.
I’m satisfied with the performance of Mattia Zaccagni, the minutes he got this evening can help him in the process of integration into the squad.
