Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri believes Feyenoord are just as tough an opponent as Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. The Biancocelesti will be buoyed by the return of Ciro Immobile, but speaking with Sky Sport Italia, Sarri explained why the striker is not ready for a full match yet, and why they can’t think about qualification just yet:
What game will it be?
“It’s not an easy match, we hope to have grown enough to be able to compete well in the match”
Can you already talk about qualification?
“We are not even halfway there, it can influence the route but it cannot be decisive. We must be aware that it is an important match, but without going crazy and without thinking that it is decisive”
How should we deal with it?
“We can’t be afraid, because if we’re scared and without nerves, it becomes tough”
What kind of team is Feyenoord?
“They are a strong team and they are showing it in Europe and in the league. After last year’s defeat against Roma they had a series of 22 good matches if I’m not mistaken. Now they have only lost one match and in this season they didn’t deserve the defeat against Atletico. This team has had important continuity for more than a year”
You have the prospect of choosing who to play: are you discovering the taste of competition?
“I’ve always had a very strong eleven, but at squad level, except in the season at Juve, there was a difference between those who played and those who didn’t. With that type of situation you hardly make rotations. And when you do them, you pay for it. This year it seems different and in fact I do more of it”
How is Immobile?
“Mentally I saw him quite well, then he did three weeks without training and he can’t be at his best or even expendable for 90 minutes, but mentally I saw him well”
