Maurizio Sarri criticized the decision to change the kick-off time of Lazio’s match against Inter: ”How the f*** can you play at 12:30?’. If the Biancocelesti drop points to Inter, and Napoli beat Salernitana, the Partenopei will be crowned Serie A champions. The weekends fixture list was adjusted to allow for the potential celebrations, but speaking in pre-match presser (as quoted by Pazza di Fanta), Sarri railed at the decision and explained why he disagreed with the move, while also offering an update on key squad players like Ciro immobile and Nicolò Casale:
“We are in the decisive phase of the season, there is little to learn. It was a heavy setback against Torino. With Torino we were not at our best physically, but also mentally. If this is a normal downturn after a good period we will react immediately, but if the drop is due to the fact that we thought we had already reached our goal, this is a problem. Tomorrow we face a team that, in individual games, is extraordinary. We have to forget the first leg, which we won but also suffered. We have to play as a collective and not as individuals.”
“We worked a lot on offloading, the team should benefit from that. But it is difficult to talk about the physical aspect without the mental one. We paid for last week’s workloads, combined with the change in temperature: I’m not saying this to protect the team, I really mean it.”
“Immobile? Mentally he is calm, physically he is growing. He has no major pains during training. He is a player on whom we are betting a lot.”
“Napoli? We have to think about our game. The table has been set for the celebration, for our defeat: we have to do our best. Napoli will still celebrate, but hopefully as late as possible.”
“In Serie A there are four teams stronger than us, with the others we are playing. We have done something more than expected, our opponents, on the other hand, something less, but we must not think about the ranking. Inter have regained confidence and enthusiasm, they are a very
“Casale? He’s fine, he had a gastrointestinal problem for 3-4 days in a row, he was a bit debilitated, that’s why he had a break. But now he has been training for a week.”
“You have to do your best in every match and whoever misses out, misses out. I will never agree on some things. How the fuck do you play at 12:30? Whether it’s raining or whether it’s 33 degrees. There are all the prerequisites for not having a good show. You get upset because Serie A collect less (in revenue) than in other leagues. If you don’t make a table with the government to redo the stadiums we are dead. Italian football can get back to good levels, but the feeling is that they are letting us sink again. We could have an ascent at this historic moment. I am in love with football. I see a chance to return to high levels, however, there is a set of strings that will make us sink again.”
