Maurizio Sarri was satisfied with Lazio’s ability to secure a crucial 2-1 win over FC Midtjylland without star striker Ciro Immobile.
The Biancocelesti fell 1-0 down after less than 10 minutes but goals from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Pedro turned things around in Rome, allowing the home side to pick up all three points. Lazio now have one foot in the Round of 16 of the Europa League and need a positive result against Feyenoord to book their spot in the knock-out stages.
Speaking in a press conference (via La Lazio Siamo Noi), Sarri first discussed Lazio’s growth in recent months.
Completely unflappable probably not, six to seven minutes after the goal there were some repercussions.
Then we took the game in hand again, we started to dribble as always and with more tranquillity, this led us to take control of the game, to create. The regret is that it only ended 2-1. We could have closed it out more comfortably and earlier.
He touched on the performances of Matteo Cancellieri and some of the other young players.
Cancellieri did well, he has a background in which he’s played as a central striker for two and a half months and ten years as a winger. It is normal that he is more comfortable as winger.
I always like to put Felipe in the centre, especially when there are centre-backs with those characteristics. He doesn’t give you points of reference.
There were unbelievable gaps at the end of the game. I’m happy with the young guys. Marcos Antonio was involved in the episode of the first goal, then he started dribbling with confidence. Luka Romero came in unstoppable.
The Lazio coach gave his thoughts on his team’s performance against Midtjylland.
It’s a team that is putting in technical and mental qualities. I’m still of my mind – one month everyone succeeds. Then you go to six months and three or four succeed. You go to 11 months, only one succeeds. Being in the phase where everyone succeeds, we are calm.
Sarri discussed the quality of the Stadio Olimpico pitch in the match.
To dribble here is much more difficult than dribbling in Bergamo. The margins of error are fierce. The problem of the pitch is a structural problem, but I thank all the guys who are working. The football we like here is difficult.
He provided an update on injured star Ciro Immobile, sidelined with a hamstring injury.
He is much better, I think he has a check-up on Monday. He started working in the water. I think that if the check-up goes well, we will intensify the work and there we will understand the picture of the situation to talk about recovery times with more certainty.
However, the evolution is positive. At the moment we are doing well without him, but it’s better if Ciro returns.
The 63-year-old Italian coach discussed the team’s ambitions for the Europa League.
You have to keep us there. The calendar is monstrous, it constantly leads you to make evaluations. Things I hate, I’d like to play every game as if it were the last. Taking the last 15 minutes off a player is little, but you lighten his recovery time by several hours.
These are things to evaluate, which I’d like not to evaluate. They are considerations that, given the calendar, have to be made. Today we changed five or six players, the same thing we have to do on Sunday playing after 72 hours.
In today’s football, you have to have 25 players of the same level. And this is difficult for economic reasons and list problems. In Europe they make us do Financial Fair Play but then there is the registration list. Congratulations!
Finally, Sarri gave his thoughts on the quality of refereeing in the Europa League.
Referees I don’t consider them Italian or foreign, I consider them good or bad. The last two games in Europe we caught two bad ones. Every now and then we get them in Italy too. What can I say! We’ll be unlucky.
