Maurizio Sarri warns Lazio currently ‘cannot handle both competitions’ and he expects a tough night in the Europa League against Marseille, giving an injury update on Ciro Immobile.
It kicks off on Thursday at 20.00 GMT after the 0-0 draw at the Stadio Olimpico.
“This is going to be very difficult, it would be insane to think of going to the Velodrome and having an easy night,” said Sarri in his press conference.
“Marseille defend with one tactical system and attack with another, both with great technical quality. French football is very similar to Italian, so we cannot expect anything simple.
“This result could end up being decisive for qualification, but so far we’ve shown that we cannot handle both competitions. After the three Europa League games, we picked up just one Serie A point.
“We’re in the running now and we’ll see tomorrow. If we want to grow, we need to be more consistent. We’ve shown that we can react to embarrassment, but consistency is a different prospect entirely.”
Immobile has made the trip to Marseille, but is a major doubt to feature after suffering from a stomach bug.
“As well as gastroenteritis, Ciro also has a problem on the outside of the knee. He’s feeling pain, so we’ll see tomorrow, as he has particular problems when changing direction. Danilo Cataldi had a small issue, but he’s doing better. We’ll see if Sergej Milinkovic-Savic feels the need to play only part of the game or the whole match.”
Sarri only took the job over the summer, but there are reports in Sportitalia today that Lazio President Claudio Lotito is already offering him a contract extension.
“We can evaluate it next week, there are more urgent matters right now. All I can say is that I am very happy at Lazio. I like the people who work at the club and get along with the President, but we need to sit down and discuss it.”
Lazio fans have been barred from travelling to Marseille for the match due to security concerns, but Sarri was unimpressed with the view that the Minister for the Interior of France has of their ultras.
“If I was Lotito, I’d invite the Minister to see a Lazio game and he’d realise straight away that he was talking b…”
#MarsigliaLazio, #Sarri: “#Immobile ha un problema al collaterale. Rinnovo? Vedremo”#SkySporthttps://t.co/U8x8hUVB4S
— skysport (@SkySport) November 3, 2021