Maurizio Sarri saw a ‘chaotic’ Lazio in the first half and a determined comeback for the 4-4 with Udinese, but ‘we shouldn’t need to keep reacting to setbacks.’
The Aquile were 3-1 down at half-time to a Beto brace and Nahuel Molina goal, then turned it around to lead 4-3 only to concede from a free kick routine at the 99th minute.
“We conceded the equaliser on a free kick that was blatantly awarded to the wrong team, because Soppy clearly held him with an arm,” Sarri told Sky Sport Italia.
“Our first half was chaotic, probably still affected by the disaster against Napoli. We got back to 3-3, were down to 10 men, then when they had a red card we took the lead 4-3 and the game seemed to be over.
“There are negative and positive aspects from the game. I am satisfied with the reaction in the second half, we showed character and the desire to get back into it, whereas in the first half we had no idea what was going on.
“The trouble is, we shouldn’t need to keep reacting to setbacks. We should have consistency in our performances, approach and focus. Instead, we have some games where we are just totally running on empty. It’s about being mentally switched off.”
Lazio have a tendency to concede on rapid counter-attacks and have now let in 29 goals in 15 Serie A games.
“We have moments when we play as a team, but we don’t do it consistently. We are making too many mistakes defensively, but not just the defenders, because allowing a counter-attack like that means our midfielders are not passing it properly either.
“A team that has no solidity can then become unlucky, which is what happened to us this evening.”
Lazio reiterated they have started a journey with Sarri at the helm and will remain committed to his project, but how far do they still need to go?
“We still have a lot of difficulties. Every now and then it looks as if we have absorbed certain concepts, then the next game is the total opposite. We cannot yet be truly defined as a ‘team.’
“We need to do something on the transfer market, that’s undeniable.”
Sarri said after the 4-0 defeat to Napoli that he looked in the eyes of his players during the warm-up and realised it would go badly. What did he see in their eyes tonight?
“The players were much more activated mentally, but perhaps they were intimidated by what happened at Napoli or eager to turn things around rapidly and therefore did it in a chaotic fashion. I saw a different attitude compared to Sunday.”