Maurizio Sarri was happy with the ‘attitude’ of his Lazio side as they always believed in turning around a very difficult situation against Bologna.
The Biancocelesti had a disastrous start, with goalkeeper Luis Maximiano sent off after just six minutes for handling outside the box.
Bologna took the lead through a Marko Arnautovic penalty, but the Lorenzo De Silvestri own goal and Ciro Immobile strike turned it around after Adama Soumaoro also saw red.
“I liked the atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico, but also the attitude of the squad,” Sarri told Sky Sport Italia.
“It seemed as if we were cursed at the start, seeing as all the incidents were going against us, but we stayed in the game and even turned it around. That was by no means easy considering it was 32-33 degrees in the first match of the season and we were down to 10 men for 90 minutes including stoppages.
“I was happy to see that at half-time everyone felt convinced we could turn it around.”
Manuel Lazzari seemed in great shape and is finding his own interpretation of the full-back role.
“When a player makes improvements, he deserves the credit. He thought that he wasn’t suited to a four-man defence, but day by day, he realised that he can do it.”
Sarri was asked if he feels that in his second season this is more of ‘his’ Lazio, especially after changes on the transfer market.
“I was satisfied with the team towards the end of last season, but we had to change because the average age of the squad was too high. We needed to open a new era, so signed experienced and younger players.”