Conference League, Az Alkmaar-Lazio 2-1 LIVE
62' GOAL Pavlidis
28' GOAL Karlsson
22' GOAL Felipe Anderson
The day before.
On the one hand, the concrete risk of not going through in the
Conference League
, on the other, a derby that promises to be fiery, as it is the decisive junction for next year's Champions League race.
Maurizio Sarri's Lazio at 21 is preparing to experience one of the most feverish moments of the season: engaged in Alkmaar against AZ (winner 2-1 at the Olimpico), the biancocelesti will have to remain vigilant and fit for the match at the same time with the Giallorossi on Sunday afternoon.
To him, Sarri asks for "desire and motivation", because "those who earn hundreds of thousands of euros must not have an alibi".
Therefore it is forbidden to think of Roma, given that "if you think of another match, you are safe. Now head to AZ, we will think about the others later".
Against Pascal Jansen's red and whites the pitfalls will be the same as in the first leg: "They are very good when they recover the ball and become very dangerous in a few seconds. Instead, when they defend low they give us many opportunities, which we didn't exploit well in the first leg".
The Tuscan coach does not think that Europe is affecting the performance of the Italians in the league: "The teams in the Champions League area are in line with last year. The anomaly is Napoli".
The Italian championship is therefore competitive, "less than the Premier but with them the economic gap is too clear".
But before thinking about doing well in Europe, Lazio should think "about succeeding in Italy. Napoli, for example, has become great in Serie A and then consequently in Europe".
Regarding the possible turnover given Sunday's derby match, Sarri believes "he cannot LET players who are tired or likely to get injured play. Since 4 January we've been playing every three days because of the World Cup, this causes injuries and loss of quality. But it doesn't matter to nobody, I'm the only dinosaur who still looks at these things".
The Biancocelesti coach concludes by talking about the singles, first Luis Alberto ("He was sick the night before Bologna, then he recovered, I saw him clearly in training but an intestinal virus takes something away from you"), then Milinkovic (" Sergej has only played 3 in the last 5 games, then he will also have the national team..."), and then Immobile: "His condition? I still don't know anything, I was on the plane when he did his exams".
After the coach, Felipe Anderson also took the floor: "Even in the past we went through complicated moments in Europe, but we can go through and change this trend", says the Brazilian, before concluding: "It will also be necessary to remain attentive and concentrate, knowing that you need two goals to pass."