Canceling the corsair victory over Napoli, however unforgettable and beautiful it was: this is what Maurizio Sarri is asking of his Lazio, on the eve of Tuesday's appointment against AZ Alkmaar, first leg of the second round of the Conference League.
An important match, which the blue-and-whites will have to face without the captain and striker Ciro Immobile, who has injured his hamstring again.
"Success at Maradona is a danger for us - explained the coach at the press conference - If we are satisfied we lose on a motivational level: we also saw it after the 4-0 win against Milan. We must not repeat the same mistakes".
Against the Dutch, who are quite fragile in defense, Lazio will instead show off a backlog in great shape: "The
defensive contribution of the whole team has improved - adds the coach - The defenders now have to cover fewer spaces because the whole team has grown". a strong, dynamic, intense team", against which Sarri will rely as usual on Felipe Anderson, always used in all matches for a year and a half: "Right now he can't be tired, there isn't an alternative solution.
Chancellors?
He continues to work as a winger and as a first striker". The Capitoline coach likes the Oranje school, given that "they have teams with good technique, level wing forwards.
The only thing I don't like about Dutch football is the Feyenoord fans". The discussion then moves on to Immobile,
forced to stop in the pits for the third time this season: "Ciro's muscle exam highlighted a minor muscle problem, but I'll talk to the doctor about it in the next few hours - continues Sari - Ciro has never been very well after the last year in the ankle and this creates problems for him which then show up after a few games".
A joke also about Casale, recovering from a kneecap contusion: "he underwent instrumental checks this morning and negative results, his knee is solid: today he is trying to train to understand if he can play or not".
Maximiano, the second Lazio goalkeeper, also spoke at the press conference, eager to find space behind the full-time Provedel: "When you don't concede a goal, it's thanks to the whole team:
we are physically well and we work well in defence, the clean sheets are a sign of our value", says the Portuguese, who then guarantees that he feels Sarri's trust: "I try to give my best every time I am called upon.
In football, things change quickly.
I still have many years to go, and it's good to get over difficult moments right away."