Maurizio Sarri was proud of his players following Lazio’s tense 1-0 Derby della Capitale win over Roma.
The two sides were both without some key figures heading into the derby, setting up an even scrappier affair than usual. Lazio could not count on the injured Ciro Immobile and the suspended Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, whilst Roma were without figures like Paulo Dybala and Georginio WIjnaldum. Sarri’s side came out on top thanks to a second half strike from Felipe Anderson.
Speaking in a press conference (via La Lazio Siamo Noi), Sarri first discussed the importance of absent stars Immobile and Dybala.
I was lucky enough to coach both of them. They are special players. Dybala has different characteristics, much less of a goal scorer than Ciro. But he is key within a team.
With me he had a very, very high level season. To say that the absence of one or the other is worth more… it’s always difficult to say.
If Roma play like they did in the first half, Dybala can do well. If they play like they did in the second half, he could disappear. However, we’re talking about two stars.
He gave his thoughts on Lazio’s defensive performance. The team did not concede a single shot on target in the second half.
It had become a difficult, dirty game. With their physicality it could have become a dangerous situation. Even in the dirt at the end of the game, we remained composed, we didn’t disband.
And that is an important aspect. This kind of defensive work in the offensive phase cost us a lot. We hardly played the balls.
The 63-year-old Italian coach commented on the usage of Felipe Anderson as a false nine.
It changes our lives a little bit. In the dirty end, having Ciro who can give a few extra balls and hold them is important. Anderson is unlikely to come off a simple deflection.
He also plays the central forward well, clearly interpreting the role according to his characteristics.
He travels the wings, he doesn’t give points of reference, he’s a troublesome player. He’s also putting in a few goals this year. We can also use him wide. If Ciro returns, better.
Sarri discussed the approach to the derby and how it impacted local players Danilo Cataldi and Alessio Romagnoli.
I kept the squad’s mood up straight away. I told them not to take into account what they were saying, that they were only talking about the result, they had played a good game. Then, of course, you have to be meaner. If you don’t want to lose, you have to be more careful.
There were these two details. Feyenoord at home score 3-4 goals against everyone, with us they had a goal-ball. The morale of the squad was not marked, there was a veil of anger. Going out hurts everyone.
Romagnoli and Cataldi? They played two level games, mental management for Romagnoli and Cataldi is very complicated. They did doubly well.
He spoke about the importance of the Biancocelesti supporters.
I told the guys in the meeting this morning that we weren’t playing for points. The points are our objective, today we’re playing for the Lazio fans.
And the Lazio fans today demand a performance with heart, soul, personality. It will end up the way it will, but if we put this on the pitch our people will applaud us anyway.
The Italian coach spoke about if the derby win could be a turning point in this season.
These are matches of strong motivation. The turning point would be to go into Thursday’s game with Monza and be the same as tonight. I told the guys… the most difficult are these two, Salernitana and Monza.
As they are right inside the schedule. At a time when you’ve spent so much energy with top teams, you find yourself in front of lesser teams and this can lead to a mental error. As has already happened.
Finally, Sarri provided an update on Luis Alberto and Pedro.
At first he had a bad feeling, he thought something had happened to his knee. Then he didn’t even want to go out anymore. He had made a sign, the doctors were still far away.
We couldn’t stay three or four minutes as 10, we preferred to make the substitution straight away. It looks like a minor injury.
Pedro? His calves were hardening. Since he suffered it last year, he asked for a change immediately.
