Maurizio Sarri believes Lazio showed maturity in their 2-0 win over Monza and insists he is not concerned about potentially conceding second place to Juventus. The Biancocolesti are undefeated in their last six Serie A matches, winning five and drawing once, putting them 4 points clear in second place. Speaking after the victory in Monza (as quoted by LaLazioSiamoNoi), Sarri addressed the teams recent stretch of strong form and explained why he isn’t concerned about Juventus snatching second spot from them:
Lazio now also have continuity: is it the team you dreamed of?
“I asked the group yesterday for maturity, to be able to understand the importance of the moment and to learn from past mistakes so as not to repeat them. The signs of maturity are coming. It was a serious game against a difficult opponent for everyone. There are moments when Monza force you to sacrifice, if you come without that spirit then you come out with no legs. They have many strong players, I’m happy that the team defended well for 80 minutes. Then we became a bit passive, with more lucidity we would have done better in the final. I’m starting to like the path we’re taking.”
Felipe Anderson played a double role…
“He is someone who guarantees us a serious and solid alternative, even if it is completely different from Immobile. Felipe’s interpretation of the role is to be studied, he weaves through the wings and through the midfield. You have to be happy, I’ve seen 25 good minutes of Ciro, it seems to me that physically he’s coming out well.”
Milinkovic-Savic returned to form….
“It seems to me that he has a different path to the team today. He suffered at the beginning, then he had a great second half. He’s growing, if he continues like this he’ll give us a big hand in the final.”
On the defence: another clean-sheet. Where did the revolution come from?
“Yes, but let’s keep it small. We have some excellent defenders, suitable for playing like this, the whole team has much more participation and awareness. It’s not that we can think of never conceding a goal, but the feeling that we are tough now is there. It’s the result of the characteristics of the players, the work on the pitch and the defensive mentality that has grown from the whole team.”
Can we think of a long-term project for you? There is always talk of clauses, relations with the sporting director and so much more…
“In football, clauses leave time to be found. Except that on the new contract, the clause is no longer there. If someone no longer wants to stay at a club it is difficult to keep him, even more so if he is a coach. I have a contract for another two years, I feel happy at Lazio, I feel part of it and inside it. They made me feel important. If nothing sensational happens, the project isn’t long term, I want to stop coaching at Lazio. Lazio is strange, from the outside you don’t realise, from the inside Lazio invades you.”
Could Juve get their points back?
“I only think of us, nothing else should interest us. We only look at our own path. We have 10 games left, we must continue in the trend of the last 7-8. For the rest, I don’t have to spend energy on Juve’s judicial affairs.”
Average points for the Champions League? How many points does it take?
“If someone makes a scorecard I’ll tear it up. You score points where you don’t think and leave them where you think you won’t leave them. Last year’s points average was 70 for fourth position. I don’t think it will deviate too much in this championship. In recent years we have always been close to that score. Today we rejoice for 10 minutes, then tomorrow morning we have a training session and think about the next one. We’ve picked up a lot of points in the last few days, if before it seemed impossible it was bullshit because it wasn’t impossible. Now we screw up twice if we think it’s easy.”
Of the game, what would you like to see again on your couch at home?
“I had the feeling and the fear that their two trequartisti could be triggered between the lines, that they could be a problem. Instead we absorbed them well throughout the match, the defensive line also has to say thanks to Cataldi, who did an inhuman job. He was playing great depending on where the ball was. Then he paid for it in the final because he started to go into reserve. It was something I was afraid of.”
Luis Alberto came out angry: a good sign?
“Let him be (laughs). He came out angry even though he left the pitch in the 93rd minute at 5-0. The positive signal is how he interprets the matches. In my opinion he played a great 45 minutes in the first half. I took him off because by then the team was defending low and we needed more physicality, but only for that reason. With Luis on the pitch we could have had two or three better counter attacks.”
Immobile?
“We talked about it and decided together last night. Usually whoever comes from an injury, I always start him, so then I decide when to take him off. He seemed calm last night, even though he told me he’d only done five training sessions. So I told him, ‘let’s do the opposite, go in after 15 minutes of the second half so the pace is lower’.
