Maurizio Sarri continues to lament Lazio’s congested fixture schedule and shares Pep Guardiola’s opinion about Atalanta ahead of their clash in Bergamo. Despite both sides having domestic commitments in midweek, Sarri believes fatigue could soon catch up with his team as they prepare for a blockbuster fixture against La Dea.
Lazio bounced back from a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Hellas Verona last weekend with a hard-earned 1-0 home victory over Fiorentina in midweek. Yet, that triumph was insufficient for the Biancocelesti to break into the Serie A top four again. Trailing bitter rivals Roma by two points, Sarri’s side will put their top-four hopes on the line against Atalanta on Saturday.
The experienced strategist fears that Lazio’s hectic schedule could harm his side’s chances of challenging for the top-four places and is aware Atalanta could prove tall order at the Gewiss Stadium. Referring to Pep Guardiola’s statement about Gian Piero Gasperini’s team, Sarri compared Lazio’s trip to Bergamo to a visit to the dentist.
“We play the third game in a row with less than 72 hours rest, it hasn’t happened to other teams,” he said up in the build-up to the game, as relayed by TUTTOmercatoWEB. “We travel to Bergamo to face a strong team. Atalanta are very aggressive, as Guardiola says, it’s like going to the dentist, even if you come out unscathed, you still feel the pain.
“Atalanta are an example in terms of club’s organization. They’ve made clear choices, they are a source of inspiration for the whole movement. However, we are Lazio and we must take a similar path in terms of choices, but different from the technical points of view.“
A victory at the Gewiss Stadium would see Lazio leapfrog fifth-placed Atalanta and at least temporarily leave fourth-placed Roma behind. And after winning their last two Serie A matches in Bergamo by a two-goal margin, the Biancocelesti will fancy their chances against Gasperini’s inconsistent side.
Not that Lazio have brimmed with consistency this season. They have alternated between winning and losing across their last five Serie A fixtures. The visitors have also failed to win four consecutive league matches on the road since beating promoted Empoli on their first seasonal travel.