Maurizio Sarri reveals the Lazio goal was part of a planned press on Roma defenders and that the Derby della Capitale is incomparable with London derbies. ‘There’s nowhere near this passion.’
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was suspended and Ciro Immobile injured, but they still snatched a 1-0 victory when Pedro pushed Roger Ibanez into making a mistake, giving Felipe Anderson the winning goal.
“All that mattered today was making our fans happy,” Sarri told DAZN, repeating the phrase he had used before kick-off.
Having experienced the derby during their time at Chelsea and Manchester United, both Sarri and Jose Mourinho know the difference with Rome.
“We will think about the rest later, but that was the objective this evening. It is one of the most keenly-felt derbies in the world. For example, in London there’s nowhere near this sort of passion and emotional participation. It is not a normal match and perhaps we paid for that this week.”
The Aquile were the underdogs going into the Derby della Capitale, especially after back-to-back defeats to Salernitana and Feyenoord saw them drop out of the Europa League.
Sarri explains that the Pedro press on Ibanez was by no means a fluke, but rather part of their tactical plan.
“This is how we had prepared it, trying to press the defenders on the centre-right and left, attacking them with our wide forwards.
“It wasn’t the most beautiful match, but it did drain physical and mental energy. The two centre-backs did well, especially dealing with high balls in the final stages.
“It is satisfying to see the lads play with such heart, more than tactical organisation.”
There was some tension when Luis Alberto was substituted, as the midfielder wanted Sarri to wait for him to shake off a knee knock and was clearly annoyed at the change.
“He wanted to go off for a knee problem, then when he got back on his feet it felt better, but by that stage the substitution was already in progress,” explained the coach.
“He could’ve been out for several minutes for treatment and in that moment I couldn’t let us play with 10 men.”