Maurizio Sarri had praise for Luis Alberto after the win away to Sassuolo and a concerning injury update on Ciro Immobile’s thigh issue.
The Aquile were feeling the pressure after just one point from three games, but got back on track with this 2-0 result at the Mapei Stadium.
Mattia Zaccagni converted a penalty for handball and Felipe Anderson made it stick with a goal in stoppages, having wasted several chances during the match.
“We worked very well defensively in the first half, then improved in terms of quality and allowed Sassuolo very little,” Sarri told Sky Sport Italia.
“We came out on top against a Sassuolo team that does not deserve to be in its current position. We generally prefer to play it out from the back, but there are also other solutions like hitting it long for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. On those flicks, a striker like Felipe Anderson can become dangerous.”
Sarri had particular praise for Spanish midfielder Luis Alberto, who so often has been left out of the starting XI.
“Unfortunately, he had a slight injury problem over the last few weeks, but today was his best performance since I’ve been here. If he plays like this, we can get do anything tactically and be covered defensively at the same time.”
There was a blow just 15 minutes in when Immobile pulled up clutching his right thigh and asked to be substituted.
“The initial sensation is that it’s nothing serious, but it’s difficult to tell without tests. We hardly ever had Immobile in top shape and that is a regret.”
Lazio chief medic Professor Rodia gave a more concerning evaluation, saying they could not tell what the problem was before the tests had been completed in 24-48 hours.
Immobile had already sustained a thigh strain in November and there are concerns of a potential relapse for the Italy international striker.