Lazio defender Francesco Acerbi was a little disappointed after last night’s goalless draw with Galatasaray.
Speaking first in an interview with Italian broadcaster Sky Sports Italia (via LazioNews24) earlier today, the 33-year-old Italian defender commented on the performance against the Turkish side.
In this match we were cautious and under pressure because we knew that only with a win we would finish first but in every match we try to unlock it as soon as possible.
However, we played a game with some chances that we could have taken advantage of better.
The Lazio defender touched on the importance of the 1-0 loss to Galatasaray earlier this season.
The first leg match against Galatasaray penalised us, today we just had to win but they sat back and defended.
We lacked that 1% to score but the Turks deserved first place because they never conceded.
Acerbi commented on the Biancocelesti’s possible opponents in the Europa League round of 16 playoff.
I would like to avoid Barcelona but they are all difficult coming down from the Champions League.
It’s a shame because we didn’t want to go to the play-offs, but we’ll prepare ourselves with conviction and try to get through.
He touched on the missing details in last night’s 0-0 draw.
We did well but when it’s 0-0 you always look at the details.
Maybe a little more malice, but we helped ourselves, we ran. We did what the coach asked us to do.
Too bad.
The former Sassuolo defender spoke about the busy schedule that sees teams play every three or four days.
When you play a lot, every two or three days, it gets tough with away trips, it takes something away from you, it shouldn’t be an excuse but it’s a fact.
We need a little something from the market but the team is strong.
Acerbi discussed the draw with Galatasaray in an interview with Lazio Style Radio.
We tried to keep them down and attack. We lacked a little something, maybe even a little bit of luck. Too bad for the extra double challenge.
There’s still time to think about it. However, it won’t be easy for the others to face a team like us either. It hasn’t been an easy group, but it’s all right.
He spoke about the differences between playing in Serie A and playing in the Europa League.
Physically and mentally you have to give a lot in Europe. They are definitely very difficult matches. We had our chances and we could have done something more.
In the end they also closed down all the spaces. It’s a shame, but that’s how it went. We tried to play our game, but it didn’t go as we hoped.
Acerbi discussed the performance when speaking to gathered reporters in a press conference.
We played well, they were good at defending. We created the conditions to score, but we lacked that bit of luck and determination to win it. It’s a shame because we didn’t take any risks.
Now we’ll have to face two important matches in February against a strong team that came down from the Champions League.
Finally, Acerbi commented on the difficulty of Lazio’s Europa League group this season and the reasons behind the draw.
Galatasaray are a very good team, but Marseille was, in my opinion, the strongest team in the group, a Champions League team. Lokomotiv hid pitfalls, it was a difficult group.
Today Galatasaray waited behind the ball, we have quality players but unfortunately a horrible pitch did not help us.
This is not an excuse, but as I said, we lacked that extra edge to bring home the result.
