Sarri: ‘Lazio made mistakes, should be better prepared’ for Castellanos sale

Maurizio Sarri was again critical of Lazio for not being ‘better prepared’ for the Taty Castellanos sale, warning they also ‘made mistakes’ against Napoli.

The coach had been hoping for a more relaxing afternoon following minor heart surgery over the New Year break, but it was a fiery game with three red cards.

Matteo Politano provided assists for both Leonardo Spinazzola and Amir Rrahmani goals, then Tijjani Noslin received a second yellow card for a clumsy challenge, followed by the brawl between Adam Marusic and Pasquale Mazzocchi.

It means Lazio have now received seven red cards in Serie A this season, so Noslin and Marusic will be suspended for the midweek round against Fiorentina, with Boulaye Dia and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru still at AFCON.

“The defeat is because Napoli are a stronger team than we are, although having said that we didn’t help our situation with a poor first half,” Sarri told DAZN Italia.

“A loss is understandable, but we could certainly have done better. When you are facing these attacking wing-backs, it is a problem for all sides to deal with.

“The cross for the first goal was quite slow and easy to predict, so it was entirely clear where the ball was going to land. We made a few mistakes.”

Lazio had been unable to make changes to their squad due to financial restrictions in the summer, but those have now been lifted, aided by the sale of Taty Castellanos to West Ham United for €30m.

So far, no replacement has been signed, while there are reports Fenerbahce are ready to offer €27m for Matteo Guendouzi.

“Castellanos was ready for this move, so in those situations it becomes difficult to keep hold of a player,” noted Sarri.

“Considering this could happen, we perhaps could’ve been a bit better prepared for the eventuality.”

Now they are expected to go back onto the transfer market, so what is Sarri looking for?

“You’d have to ask the director. I spoke to him and said we need important players in specific zones of the pitch. There’s no point signing players who are the same level as the current crop.

“The evolution of this discussion depends on the club and the director.”