Lazio and Luis Alberto have turned things around after a rocky start. And the relationship between the mercurial Spaniard and Maurizio Sarri has visibly improved. The gaffer had raised doubts about deploying him and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic together in the midfield, as it had been the case for years. The player had responded with subtle snipes on social media.
Alberto returned to the stat-sheet with a gem against Salernitana. He had not scored since the second game of the season versus Spezia. More significantly, he got the nod in four straight games after three appearances off the bench, which had caused malcontent.
Sarri declared after the last fixture: “He understood that, if I have something to say, I do it publicly in front of everybody else. That maybe looked weird to him at first. He knows me better now, and I do too. He is a peculiar but intelligent guy. Coexisting has become easier.” Alberto had some remarks along the same lines: “I run more now, I comprehended Sarri, and I feel great here at Lazio. I was asked to defend more, and I am improving a lot there.”
According to Sky Sport, the heated confrontations between the gaffer and the star could have easily led to a break-up. However, the latter complied with the requests and rounded out his game. The development has also been helped by the strong performances of Danilo Cataldi as the anchor of the midfield. The 27-year-old is more mobile and energetic than Lucas Leiva, which made things easier in both phases.