Marco Parolo scored an historic Champions League goal, but admits Lazio are lacking the right ‘mentality’ both in Serie A and Europe.
The midfielder came off the bench and nodded in during a 2-1 defeat against Bayern Munich this evening, losing 6-2 on aggregate.
Marco Parolo scored an historic Champions League goal, but admits Lazio are lacking the right ‘mentality’ both in Serie A and Europe.
The midfielder came off the bench and nodded in during a 2-1 defeat against Bayern Munich this evening, losing 6-2 on aggregate.
At the age of 36 years and 51 days, Parolo became the third oldest player to score in the Champions League knockout rounds after Paolo Maldini (36 years and 333 days) and Ryan Giggs (37 years and 148 days).
“This goal is a personal reward and I’m happy with it. As a child I used to dream of scoring in the Champions League, so to get two in one season is quite an achievement,” Parolo told Sky Sport Italia.
“We have to learn from Bayern Munich’s mentality, as despite winning the first leg 4-1 away, they were determined throughout, chased every ball and there was Thomas Muller giving instructions.
“In Italy, if we win a first leg 4-1, usually we see teams take their foot off the gas. What still irritates me is the first leg, as we made avoidable errors.
“We felt the sting of being in the Champions League knockouts for the first time and Bayern were just so comfortable with the situation.”
This was the first time Lazio had even been in the Champions League for 13 years, while their last Round of 16 appearance was 20 years ago.
“We received so many compliments last year and perhaps we lost sight of our reality,” continued Parolo.
“Sometimes we tried to be too pretty and didn’t focus on getting the job done. We have to learn from Bayern, as great teams have that mentality which is lacking not just with us, but in all of Italian football.”
Yet, after arguing Lazio felt the pressure of being over their heads in the Champions League, Parolo also said they struggle in the race for the top four in Serie A.
“There are problems there too, because feeling the expectation to win is not easy either. I have not won much in my career, but I’ve watched others win and every day they give more in training to get stronger.
“The arrival of big champions can improve a team, but we need to flip that switch within us. We’ve got to learn from that Bayern determination.
“When we had to fight for the victory, that’s where we at times were lacking.”