Stefano Pioli says his Lazio side ‘deserve’ to reach the Coppa Italia final as ‘we’re the only ones who wanted it from the start’.
The Biancocelesti travel to take on Napoli tomorrow for the second leg of their semi-final knowing they must score if they have any chance of preventing the Partenopei reaching a second successive final, after a 1-1 draw in Rome.
“It’s a very important game,” Coach Pioli admitted in his pre-match Press conference.
Stefano Pioli says his Lazio side ‘deserve’ to reach the Coppa Italia final as ‘we’re the only ones who wanted it from the start’.
The Biancocelesti travel to take on Napoli tomorrow for the second leg of their semi-final knowing they must score if they have any chance of preventing the Partenopei reaching a second successive final, after a 1-1 draw in Rome.
“It’s a very important game,” Coach Pioli admitted in his pre-match Press conference.
“We have the opportunity of achieving the goal we set ourselves at the beginning of the season when we had two routes into Europe.
“We’re the only ones who wanted the Coppa Italia from the start. We deserve this final.
“We wanted a different result in the first leg, and I think we deserved a lot more in the first half. It’s a result that gives a bit of an advantage to our opponents.
“We feel good physically and mentally, and we’re playing a team which is similar in values to ours, but which has been built up over time.
“They’re one of the worst opponents to face. Although we haven’t yet beaten them, we’ve proven that we have the ability. Maybe tomorrow will be the right time.
“It’s difficult to assess our chances of going through, because we know we have to score. We know that we can do that though, because we’re a creative side.
“Napoli have conceded several goals, but we have to make sure we’re in the game for 95 minutes. You can score early, but also in the last minute.
“We must play a careful game, making sure we’re compact and that we don’t concede goals.”
Pioli also discussed who he’d like to face in any potential final, and sees Juventus as the strongest side still in the draw.
“We mustn’t change our way of thinking, the next game is always the most important. We want to go through [to the final].
“The other two semi-finalists are good teams, whoever is in the final on June 7 will have a chance. Juventus are still the strongest, but they start with the disadvantage of a first leg defeat.”