Maurizio Sarri insists he had no issue with the Lazio ‘mentality’ in their Europa League draw with Sturm Graz, but they still needed more intensity.
The Biancocelesti had hoped to get back on track after the 5-1 defeat to Midtjylland, but once again, their Serie A form simply does not translate to the Europa League.
Despite keeping squad rotation to an absolute minimum, they were again fairly toothless and ran several big risks at the back, requiring an Elseid Hysaj goal-line clearance and some Ivan Provedel saves.
Ciro Immobile had the best chance, finding the net only for it to be ruled offside.
“I don’t think the performance was bad in terms of mentality. We could’ve won it in the second half,” Sarri told Sky Sport Italia.
Lazio did lost the ball a few too many times playing out from the back and that was something Sarri noticed too.
“The opponents were very aggressive in their pressing, but sometimes we lost the ball in an entirely banal fashion by ourselves.
“The Europa League level is higher than it was in the past, and the tempo and intensity are a step up too.”
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic got his first Europa League start of the season, but failed to make much of an impact.
“When you play this many games, you can have an off day, that’s true of everyone.”