Following Lazio’s impressive 3-1 victory over Ajax in Amsterdam during the sixth matchday of the Europa League, manager Marco Baroni shared his thoughts on the team’s performance and the development of young players. The win solidified Lazio’s position at the top of their group, having previously faced Dynamo Kyiv, Nice, Twente, Porto, and Ludogorets in the competition.
Baroni began by praising his team’s approach to the match: “It’s right to work with our heads down, with great humility and dedication. The team can and must grow in their work and application in these games. I told the squad that I wanted to play the game and press them high. I’m happy because we played a mature game, showing compactness, spirit, and attentiveness.”
The Lazio manager expressed his satisfaction with the team’s progress and highlighted the importance of giving young players opportunities to develop: “I’m pleased and satisfied. I had the perception that this team needed to be launched a bit, and when I did it, they followed me, so this doesn’t surprise me. These are players who have quality, we need to break down the wall of resistance regarding young players: young players need to play and make mistakes, we give them the opportunity. These are players who need to grow and go on the field to play these kinds of matches. We must play more and more important games because it means we’re doing well.”
Baroni also commented on specific players, starting with Tchaouna: “Defensively, he has improved a lot. He worked well on the full-back who was coming inside, he lost him a couple of times but he’s improving. He makes somewhat instinctive plays; sometimes he needs to understand that in certain situations the ball shouldn’t be lost, he’s working on it. Then in front of goal, he’s one who has a good shot and can score.”
On Dele-Bashiru, Baroni noted: “He comes from a different style of football, where there’s less application. We brought him into this role because he has devastating physicality and is technical. The thing he needs to improve is bringing the speed of his head to match that of his legs; when he does that, he’ll become a very important midfielder.”
Regarding Isaksen, the manager explained: “You know who he had ahead of him last year, who played a lot and rightly so because he was a phenomenon who gave so much to Lazio. He’s one of those who needed to be launched a bit. In Naples, I was happy with his goal because when he had to make the right play, he did. Attackers must be good at making choices but also have the courage to try plays.”
