Ciro Immobile admits the criticism he received this season ‘hurt’, but he was not upset about being benched before scoring both Lazio goals against Celtic.
The veteran had been surprisingly left on the bench this evening in favour of Taty Castellanos, while Gustav Isaksen was preferred to Pedro.
Maurizio Sarri’s substitutions certainly paid off, as Immobile scored twice in the final eight minutes to give his team the precious victory.
“If you can dream it, you can do it,” Immobile told Sky Sport Italia.
“I didn’t think much about being left out, because this is a difficult moment for the team and I think putting personal interests before those of the squad will only make things tougher.”
It is strange that Lazio seem like a different side in the Champions League, raising their game for the big fixtures.
“The only explanation I can come up with is that the enthusiasm of playing in this tournament puts us in a condition to give our best. It is not a conscious error, but we have to bring this enthusiasm into our Serie A performances too.”
This victory means that if Atletico Madrid beat Feyenoord this evening, then Lazio will be in the Champions League Round of 16.
“We knew from the start this could be a balanced group, with teams accustomed to this level of competition. We have to give something more and it’s a pity we lost in Rotterdam, because otherwise we’d have already been qualified.”
It is a perfect response to Immobile’s critics, especially after he was left out of the Italy squad for the final EURO 2024 qualifiers.
“Moving on the edge of the offside line and making these movements gives me confidence. I have always been accustomed to answering critics on the field. However, it was different this year, they hurt me. And as I was not in good shape, I didn’t get the chance to silence them.”