Maurizio Sarri admits he felt ‘shame’ after losing the Rome derby and wasn’t sure how Lazio would react against Sassuolo, while Sergej Milinkovic-Savic ‘can become one of the best in the world.’
The Biancocelesti were in dire need of a change of pace after their humiliating 3-0 defeat to rivals Roma in the Derby della Capitale.
Manuel Lazzari opened the scoring early, then Sergej Milinkovic-Savic sealed it on a quickly-taken Luis Alberto free kick.
Hamed Traore pulled one back in stoppages at the back post, but the points consolidate seventh place and keep Lazio in the hunt for European qualification.
“I had hoped to see this attitude. We reacted well, it wasn’t easy because the derby really was weighing on us heavily, certainly weighing on me, so there was no guarantee we’d play like this,” Sarri told DAZN.
“Fortunately, we played at a very high level against a Sassuolo side that this season has won away to Juventus, Inter and Milan. We allowed them very little, one chance in the first half, two in the second. We could comfortably have won 4-1 or 5-1 today.”
Sarri was asked how the derby defeat had been weighing on him and the Lazio players.
“We didn’t just lose a game, we didn’t even play it, so I arrived at the Formello training ground with a feeling of shame towards the fans and those who work here. It wasn’t for the defeat, but the way the defeat came about.”
Milinkovic-Savic has contributed nine goals and nine assists in Serie A this season, more than any other midfielder. The coach was asked whether the Serbian is one of the best in the world in his position.
“In my view he can become one of the best in the world. I still see margin for improvement, especially his consistency.”
Ciro Immobile missed a few golden opportunities today, suggesting a lack of confidence after the Italy defeat and criticism aimed at him.
“He made two or three mistakes he usually doesn’t make, but when it came to playing with the team, he did better than many other performances.
“Immobile is used to scoring every weekend, so you don’t expect him to waste two or three chances, but I saw he was not worried or concerned with other things.”
Sarri was asked about the plans for next season and whether he was concerned by transfer speculation around stars like Luis Alberto and Milinkovic-Savic.
“We are building. When the team performs, it does it at a high level. What we need to avoid is those blackouts we see fortunately more rarely now, but they haven’t yet been eradicated, as we saw in the derby.
“We need to work on creating a strong mentality that is maintained through positive and negative moments.
“We’ll discuss it with the President, he will tell me if there are offers and if they are worth accepting. I want to focus on the remaining games this season and consider the future later, because if we’re thinking about that now, we’ll have a really disappointing end to the season.”
#Lazio, #Sarri: “Il #derby ci ha lasciato scorie pesanti. Arrivavo a Formello e mi vergognavo nei confronti del popolo laziale” #ASRoma #RomaLazio https://t.co/5pDKvDyrIo
— pagineromaniste.com (@PagineRomaniste) April 2, 2022