Maurizio Sarri explains his tactical requests to Lazio in their 3-1 win at Sampdoria, a Ciro Immobile injury concern and why Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was sent off.
The Biancocelesti had the game won by half-time with Milinkovic-Savic and an Immobile brace, but switched off after the restart, thanking Thomas Strakosha for several saves.
Milinkovic-Savic saw red for dissent and will be suspended for the next match against Sassuolo.
Serie A | Sampdoria 1-3 Lazio: Immobile makes short work of Samp
“We need to be more organised than we have been in recent games, otherwise we lose balance, so today I asked the players to not lose their positions,” Sarri said in his press conference.
“At times, the team can get a bit too instinctive and lose their shape.”
Lazio also looked much more solid with Mattia Zaccagni, who provided two assists, and Toma Basic in midfield rather than Luis Alberto.
“Zaccagni had some injury issues, but is settling in really well. Basic is reliable, unfortunately he had to be out for three weeks with COVID, but I saw him looking sharp in training yesterday and he told me he felt ready. He was. Basic can be one of the pillars of Lazio in future.
“We passed the ball with quality in the first half and it could’ve torn any opponent apart. Samp are a good squad, so this result should not be underestimated.”
The game changed after the break, with Immobile substituted by Vedat Muriqi, but it turns out this was not just a tactical decision.
“He felt a lot of pain in his knee and I hope it was just the effect of a knock and can therefore be resolved pretty quickly.”
Milinkovic-Savic then got himself sent off for dissent, mere moments after a yellow card for a foul.
“I can tell you exactly what he said to the referee: ‘You didn’t see a ****ing thing.’ For an experienced referee like this, the discussion could’ve been sorted out without needing to resort to cards.
“Milinkovic-Savic was naïve, but Fabbri was also a bit hasty.”