Vladimir Petkovic enjoyed his Serie A debut and noted Lazio” data-scaytid=”47″>Lazio are “close to the image I have of my team.”
Vladimir Petkovic enjoyed his Serie A debut and noted Lazio are “close to the image I have of my team.”
The Biancocelesti earned a 1-0 victory over Atalanta in Bergamo this evening thanks to a Hernanes counter-attack.
“I was trying to push these emotions away, as it’s important to keep our feet on the ground and carry on working,” he said of his nerves at the first top flight appearance.
“Seeing everything we’ve done in the last six weeks, I expected something more so far this summer.
“The team fought hard, suffered and created, so I think we were a real team today. It is getting close to the image I have of my team.
“I saw Lazio suffering in the first 20 minutes, as we knew Atalanta would be fired up in front of their home crowd.
“We also needed to shake off the Europa League game played on Thursday, but we created many scoring opportunities and were generally in control.
“At the end Atalanta were raining long balls into the box, but overall Lazio deserved the win.”
Petkovic had been heavily criticised in the media over the summer due to friendly defeats, leading some to bet he’d be the first Serie A Coach sacked.
“I have followed Italian football, so I know that at the end of the day it’s part of this sport and sometimes we have to put up with it.”