Maurizio Sarri was happy with the work of Lazio’s new signings in their win over Frosinone but again highlighted the poor pitch quality at the Stadio Olimpico.
The Biancocelesti fell 1-0 down after a Matias Soule penalty just before the hour mark, but they responded with ferocity in the final 20 minutes of the match, snatching all three points after goals from Valentin Castellanos, Gustav Isaksen and Patric.
It was an important and resilient response from Lazio, who showed a number of positives despite being without star duo Ciro Immobile and Luis Alberto. The result has helped the team continue closing the gap to the top four spots.
Speaking in a press conference (via La Lazio Siamo Noi), Sarri first discussed Lazio’s performance against Frosinone.
The team also played a good game in the first half, but with less ability to transform the game into scoring actions. Going behind was blasphemy, but we went behind in a questionable way because an expert referee called a foul first and didn’t let a shot in.
Two positive situations: the stadium helped us and didn’t blow the whistle. After three or four minutes of setbacks, we were ferocious and could’ve scored more goals. Castellanos suffered from the lack of a goal.
He played a decent game, but after the goal it was another. I wouldn’t say he has a fragile character, more sensitive. Rovella played a good game, but he has room for improvement.
He has dynamism, but he wastes it, with a little more sense of position he’d be another. Often there he causes counter attacks because he decentralizes too much.
He touched on the work of the younger players in the squad.
Last year we would never have won a match with all these absences. If Lazzari, Milinkovic, Romagnoli, Luis Alberto and Immobile had been missing, we would never have won.
At squad level we are more competitive, but as eleven we are not this moment. We have three or four that are making much less than last year, and these new ones are giving us a great hand.
The Lazio coach was asked if he wanted to see a new midfielder arrive in the January transfer window.
Let’s make logical evaluations. The first is the tests of Luis Alberto, then the Japan squad and then we’ll see. If the two responses are not positive, a central player is needed. The deep-lying playmaker is a specialist role and the teams’ needs come first everything.
Rovella improves if he plays all the matches there, it’s clear that we then need to understand how we are positioned. Between him and Cataldi, Rovella is certainly the one who can play centrally.
Sarri spoke about the fact that Castellanos’ goal was the team’s first headed goal of the season.
It means that we are poor in that fundamental! We started from year zero. If some players stopped performing less than in the past, we would be in a better situation.
Unfortunately, this is not the case and it is normal that the insertion of new players must be sped up. If the old ones returned to what they once were, the new ones would be an additional resource, but now they are structural.
He was asked about Felipe Anderson’s contract situation.
The expiry of his contract is not my problem, but the player’s and the club’s. Today he played because he had two or three excellent training sessions and a good quarter of an hour at the start.
He made two or three banal mistakes and looking at him in the eyes he looked lost and I had to intervene. He’s probably the strongest in the squad, but when he’s having these days it’s right to remove him.
Finally, Sarri discussed Lazio’s ability to comeback from a 1-0 deficit.
The teams that come here do a miracle at playing football because the pitch is terrible. The rating of the pitch by the last two opposing captains is always zero, I haven’t seen today’s. I say this today because I won and at least you don’t say and don’t write that I make excuses when I lose.
The reaction was created by the stadium more than the players. When the fans pushed us and didn’t boo, they believed in us and after the 1-1 we attacked the match. I saw a team with energy, and it is something that we take away from this evening as well as that the team finished on a high.
