Maurizio Sarri admitted that Lazio were not at their best during their win over Torino in Serie A on Thursday evening, but believes that his team have overcome their slight rough patch, having lost to Bologna in the league over the weekend.
Lazio recorded a 2-0 victory over Torino in Serie A on Thursday evening thanks to two second half goals within six minutes of each other from Matteo Guendouzi and Danlio Cataldi.
The Lazio-Torino fixture had originally been scheduled for the 21st round of Serie A matches in January, but was rearranged due to the Biancocelesti’s involvement in the Supercoppa Italiana in Saudi Arabia.
As a result of Thursday’s game, Sarri and his team have lifted themselves back into seventh in the Serie A table, and are now five points off Atalanta in fourth, although they have played one game more than La Dea.
“We struggled in the first half because of their pressure, but we played our part in that as well. We lost balls in silly situations. Then they relaxed a little, and we scored with our first clear chance,” Sarri said in his post-match press conference, reported via TMW.
“We were then in control until we went down to ten men. We lost in a number of challenges, but importantly we went in at half time at 0-0.“
Responding to remarks that Lazio’s first half performance was ‘disastrous, Sarri said: “If you can only find the negatives, it means you are in a negative mindset. We are coming off four good matches.
“Look, today was the worst first half we’ve had. Toro are difficult to play against, the whole of Serie A knows it. We have come out of our momentary suffering and have put it right.”
Asked what he expected from his Lazio players when they face Fiorentina in another Serie A six-pointer this weekend, Sarri replied: “Let’s just think about today. I don’t know the standings yet. Right now, we only care about today’s game, the rest are irrelevant.”
Well done to the team for getting the 3 point and a clean sheet in 10men.
👏 Sarri