Maurizio Sarri was bitterly disappointed after Lazio’s disappointing 2-2 draw with Empoli, a continuation of the team’s rough start to 2023.
The Biancocelesti looked strong in the first half of the season and seemed on track to be serious contenders in the fight for a top four finish, but things have looked a little different since the World Cup break.
Lazio went ahead against Lecce last week before conceding two and losing, and they again dropped points from a leading position in their 2-2 draw with Empoli.
Speaking to DAZN (via LazioNews24) after the match, Sarri first reacted to the result and performance of his Lazio squad against Empoli.
We played a high-level game, I felt it was tight at 2-0. We made a mistake at 2-1, then after that there was bad luck. The team was always in control of the match.
Lotito was disappointed for the final result but not for the performance. Difficult to accept, with this performance it is difficult. We committed a naivety and now we are paying for all of them dearly.
He touched on his team’s lack of focus and mental drops in matches, noting that it wasn’t a physical issue.
We have this great difficulty at the mental level. The physical numbers are the same between the first and second half. We can’t be focused for 90 minutes. I don’t know what it could depend on, the fear is that it depends on a mental cylinder capacity that isn’t at a great level.
We had a great half of the season in which we contained it but lately this defect is resurfacing. Certainly, we can try to improve it, our workouts are of strong application and intensity, I think it is difficult to go beyond that.
We put attention on details, then today we concede that goal at 2-0. Probably not enough yet.
Finally, Sarri discussed Lazio’s goals in the coming games.
The goal is to end this difficult period as soon as possible, otherwise it’s useless to talk about anything else.
Lazio now sit 5th in the Serie A table on 31 points, three behind fourth place Inter. The team need an upswing in form soon if they want to stay involved in the fight for a top four finish.
