Sarri: ‘Some positives to be taken from Lazio defeat’ to Inter

Maurizio Sarri was impressed by Lazio’s ‘mentality’ after conceding an early goal against Inter, insisting there are ‘some positives to be taken’ from the defeat.

The Aquile had been on sparkling form going into San Siro this evening, unbeaten in six rounds and keeping four consecutive clean sheets.

However, they were undone within three minutes this evening, as Lautaro Martinez found the far top corner with a swerving finish off the outside of the boot.

Ange-Yoan Bonny then made sure by meeting the perfectly weighted Federico Dimarco pass from the left, while Mario Gila was unlucky to see his header bounce off the upright and not completely cross the line.

“When you step into San Siro and concede a goal after two and a half minutes, it becomes tough,” Sarri told DAZN Italia.

“We were up against a team that was clearly stronger than us on paper, we did manage to get back into the game and had our chances, so it was certainly not a disastrous performance.

“It’s disappointing the two goals came from losing the ball in banal fashion. It’s true errors are part of the gap in quality between the teams, but still we could’ve done better there.”

Sarri made a triple substitution after Inter doubled their lead, but the lack of a presence in the box is affecting their goal-scoring record.

“At this moment, we do not have a proper striker in the penalty area. Taty Castellanos might be able to do it, but he’s injured, and the others all approach the role in a different way. We still created two or three scoring opportunities against Inter at San Siro, and that is not easy.

“The team’s mentality is evidently improving, because they did not lose their heads after such an early goal, and stayed in the game right to the end. There are positives to be taken from this game and we take them.”

With the lack of a real centre-forward in mind, has Sarri asked Lazio to sign a player for that role in January?

“They haven’t told me if the transfer market is even open for us in January, so we didn’t get into the details of players,” replied the coach.

The transfer embargo had surprised him in the summer when he returned to the club and it would appear there is still not a lot of clarity on whether that financial fair play issue has been resolved.

Lazio go into the break for international duty in ninth place on 15 points, but above all will be hoping to use this time to get some players back to full fitness.

Alessio Romagnoli had been in doubt this evening too, but grit his teeth to start in defence.

“When you find yourself with a series of difficulties that pile up on top of each other, either you sink or you swim. There are no other options. I think the lads did well to react and start swimming,” noted Sarri.

“I don’t know how many could recover after the break for international duty, as they are under the guidance of the medical staff, so I can only hope.”