Lazio coach Marco Baroni will reportedly resort to Pedro to lead the line in the Europa League opener against Dynamo Kyiv. The Biancocelesti will kickstart their European campaign on Wednesday in an away contest against the Ukrainian giants which will be held in Hamburg.
The Italian capital side is coming off a 1-2 defeat at the hands of Fiorentina in a contest marred by controversial incidents. Lazio had to do without the services of their main striker Taty Castellanos who left a significant gap upfront.
According to La Lazio Siamo Noi, the Argentine could return to the fold for the midweek contest, but Baroni is unlikely to risk him from the start. The source thus expects the 25-year-old’s return to the starting lineup to be delayed until next weekend’s Serie A outing against Torino.
Baroni to Start Pedro in Attack in Europa League
Therefore, Baroni will have to come up with a new solution upfront. The manager prefers to deploy Boulaye Dia as a second striker in his 4-2-3-1 system, and the Senegalese is also doubtful after picking up an ankle knock against Fiorentina.
The 60-year-old entrusted the versatile Tijjani Noslin with the centre-forward role in Florence, but the Dutchman failed to shine. Therefore, Baroni replaced him with Pedro in the second half, and he could resort to the veteran’s services once more in midweek, counting on his massive European experience.
The former Barcelona and Chelsea star is a winger by trade, but he also played as a striker on some occasions throughout his illustrious playing career.
I feel Baroni is making a mistake puting Noslin in front, he isn’t a CF, rather a winger. Am I the only one who saw that if he did anything well in that Fiorentina match, it was when he ended up/moved out towards the wing.
Also, Baroni must understand the players that are more emotional/“sensitive” like Noslin, Tchaouna and integrate them gradually. Tchaouna already started to show some improvement when he comes on in the 2nd half compared to starting(for now) so it could be the case for Tijani as well. Just give it a thought.
Ps: the team played well in Florence, we did not deserve to lose the match but we play match after match so we can rebounce right away.
C’mon Lazio dajeee 🩵🤍🦅