Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri took great satisfaction from his teams 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League, but admits they face a tough task in the second leg. It was an important victory for the Biancocelesti in the first leg of the round of 16, with a penalty converted by Ciro Immobile earning them the win. In the post-match, Lazio’s coach Maurizio Sarri gave some statements to Sky Sport and Amazon Prime Video:
“We lacked audacity in the last quarter of an hour when we definitely settled. We won against one of the strongest teams in Europe, and there is great satisfaction, but after that, we have to go to Hell, so the result is definitely little. But there is the satisfaction of seeing a team so on point, so united in the way of playing and thinking,” Sarri said on Sky Sport.
On the value of the match: “These are matches that give an adrenaline rush regardless of everything. We decided some things tactically by talking all together: it was too risky to stretch the field by pressing up to the opponent’s area, so we waited for them deeper. Sometimes we were even very deep, to their credit and not by our choice.”
On the return match: “It changes little, they have devastating strength at home. It will be a feat at the limits, but meanwhile, we have removed this satisfaction. We need to reset everything immediately, tonight we participated in a party while on Sunday we play for life. In these matches and in the derbies, the atmosphere of the Laziale fans is beautiful: today the sight was fantastic.”
“It was the victory of application and suffering. There is great satisfaction for having beaten one of the strongest teams in Europe, but also regret for having wasted opportunities in the end,” Sarri said to Amazon Prime Video after Lazio-Bayern Munich.
On Lazio’s performance: “We moved throughout the match with only one brain. During the match, it was normal to have moments of suffering, but there were many opportunities. Luckily we took one. In the last quarter of an hour, we were more concerned with bringing home the victory rather than achieving a broader result.”
On the tactical course of the game: “We had decided to lower the pressing line, and sometimes they lowered us even more than we thought. We had already decided not to stretch the field, also because they attack with many players. Given their quality, we decided like this.”
Finally, Sarri closed the interview with Amazon Prime Video: “Tuchel has won much more than me, he knows very well what he has to do, Bayern is a strong team, several guys from the bench impressed me. Tel is very strong, impressive.”
