Pepe Reina admits Lazio ‘shot ourselves in the foot’ during the 4-1 home defeat to Bayern Munich and the lack of experience showed in the Champions League.
It was an uphill struggle from the ninth minute, when Mateo Musacchio’s horrible back-pass gifted Robert Lewandowski the opener.
Pepe Reina admits Lazio ‘shot ourselves in the foot’ during the 4-1 home defeat to Bayern Munich and the lack of experience showed in the Champions League.
It was an uphill struggle from the ninth minute, when Mateo Musacchio’s horrible back-pass gifted Robert Lewandowski the opener.
More errors followed for Bayern to take a 4-0 lead, although Joaquin Correa did get a consolation goal, while Sergej Milinkovic-Savic had penalty appeals waved away when it was still only 1-0.
“They pressed very well, we made a few errors in our passing and our positioning to get out of that press, so when you make mistakes like that at this level, you will get punished,” Reina told Sky Sport Italia.
“We must put this behind us, because the form we had in recent weeks means it’s our duty we get right back on track.
“This was a club that hadn’t been in the Round of 16 for many years, there were players who had few Champions League games under their belts. When you make errors against the best team in the world, you’re going to suffer.
“We had managed to escape the first press against Atalanta and find ourselves in midfield, but we didn’t do it properly this time. Perhaps we could’ve mixed things up a bit with the long ball at times.
“When you have the wrong approach to a game like this, you’re going to pay for that. All the hunger you have can make you shoot yourself in the foot, and it’s not a team accustomed to turning this sort of match around or playing with that kind of intensity.
“Perhaps it was just too much for us right now.”
The second leg will be in Munich on March 17.