Maurizio Sarri highlighted that he enjoys coaching Lazio following their exciting 3-0 win over Cagliari yesterday.
Speaking to the Italian press (via LazioNews24) after the full time whistle, the 63-year-old Italian coach first discussed the team’s growth in recent months.
I’m satisfied but there are people who haven’t been watching us for months as we’ve been playing like this since December.
The team is expressing itself at a good level with a good consistency, then we faced strong teams that played matches at a high level and we didn’t win but the team is growing.
Sarri recalled how much of a toll the Europa League took on the Lazio squad.
The Europa League is played on Thursday evening and without the possibility of playing on Monday it is difficult for everyone. We lost a lot of points after playing on Thursday night.
He touched on the impact of small details.
When the results don’t coincide with what the pitch has said it means you are doing something wrong. We were making mistakes in small details.
You can’t concede Ruiz’s goal, leaving the defence unprotected 20 minutes from the end is incredible. In Bergamo and Udine they drew at the last minute. We didn’t pay attention to small details and it cost us.
Sarri discussed how important it was to continue keeping clean sheets, even if that meant scoring less.
I’m happier to score a lot less than before. Football is about balance, it’s important to have a minimum of solidity.
I like having a team that scores with good consistency but I like that in the last 5-6 games we have only conceded goals from Napoli. To have so many clean sheets is a step forward.
The 63-year-old Italian coach remembered how it was working with Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus.
The year in which Cristiano scored the most goals in Italy was with me. Cristiano was available to play a few games as a centre forward, he didn’t want to play continuously.
There you go to affect some certainty of the player, for him it was an absurd request but understandable for the standards that he has.
Finally, Sarri discussed how he feels coaching this Lazio squad.
We wasted something this evening, but the application in trying not to concede a goal was a good sign. After Europe we showed a mental limit, lowering our points average.
Now I hope it continues with the pace we had in the games before Europe. The greatest satisfaction is that I enjoy coaching this team.
Ours has been a long journey because the way of thinking about football was different, but now the results are coming.
Lazio’s win means that they now sit 7th in the Serie A table, one point behind intercity rivals Roma and four points behind 4th place Juventus. Their next match is against Venezia next weekend, before they face the Giallorossi in the Derby della Capitale on 20th March.
