Mattia Zaccagni admits Lazio ‘lacked character’ in their 3-1 defeat to Feyenoord and by the time they fought back, it was ‘too late.’
The Aquile were trailing 2-0 by half-time with Santiago Gimenez and Zerrouki making the most of some slack defending, then Gimenez struck again for 3-0 on 74 minutes.
Pedro came off the bench and converted a penalty, earned by Zaccagni.
“We lacked character and did not have the right initial approach to the game,” Zaccagni told Sky Sport Italia.
“They were more determined and we must do that in the reverse fixture. On these nights, you have to stay in the match as long as you can. They allowed us a bit more space in the second half, but unfortunately it was already too late.”
It means Feyenoord leapfrog Lazio in the Champions League group and make qualification increasingly tricky.
“We must win the next match, there’s no two ways about it, so we can get back up the table and then see what else happens.”