Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri highlighted the team’s fatigue following their 0-0 draw with Atalanta last night.
Speaking in an interview with Italian broadcaster DAZN (via LazioNews24) after the game, the 63-year-old Italian coach first noted the positives from the match.
The positive aspect is that since a month ago we are on the pitch as a team in both phases. We developed the game well with a good dribbling, we lacked focus in the last twenty yards but we had played in the Coppa Italia and we were a bit exhausted.
Atalanta were in an emergency but they had a full defence.
The Lazio coach touched on the team’s offensive issues in the match against Atalanta.
We don’t fill the penalty area much, we have more one-on-one play but tonight we lacked brilliance.
But we have improved compared to before, we have a marked territorial superiority. We have to continue like this.
Sarri discussed the limited options available to him due to injuries and the busy schedule.
We were without seven players so not only Atalanta were in emergency. I think the 120 minutes against Udinese weighed on the one-on-one, we need a different leg.
Without Pedro in that role we were short, we squeezed the players in the space of a week.
The 63-year-old Italian coach commented on the poor performance of Brazilian winger Felipe Anderson.
Felipe Anderson has a very particular character, he has different mental mechanisms to other people. But he’s in a job where he shouldn’t give a damn about criticism and have a bit of nerve.
The public got to him tonight, I wanted to replace him but I didn’t because he would have been even more depressed.
Finally, Sarri reacted to his tactical choices in the match.
I’m happy with the tactical aspect, the team is good, short and solid.
We play football even under pressure, it seems strange because we’ve scored a lot of goals and conceded a lot but paradoxically tonight we did better in defence. Without Pedro we don’t fill the penalty area much.
Lazio’s next match is against a Dusan Vlahovic-led Fiorentina on 6th February, after the upcoming international break. Following that, they’ll face AC Milan in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals.
The Biancocelesti have only picked up two wins in their last five league outings, so Sarri will be hoping to return to winning ways against the Viola next month.
