Marco Baroni is happy with the 1-3 victory of his SS Lazio over Ajax. The trainer of the Italian team did not start with his strongest lineup in the Johan Cruijff ArenA and so he is asked whether he may have underestimated Ajax.
Lazio is having an excellent Europa League campaign. Five of the six matches played so far have been won, putting the Italian club at the top of the League Phase. Yet Baroni remains calm. ‘We keep our heads down and remain humble, but we are also ambitious. The team must grow by continuing to win matches at this level,” Baroni is quoted as saying afterwards Football International.
The coach, who has been Lazio’s coach since last summer, explains what his match plan was against Ajax. ‘I told the players that they had to be aggressive and prevent Ajax from retaining possession of the ball. The players understand better and better how we want to play and the importance of high pressure. I saw unity and a strong team spirit, but also concentration. The team understands what needed to be done and what still needs to be done to improve.”
Lazio kept many basic players aside
Baroni did not choose his strongest eleven against Ajax. For example, he kept Alessio Romagnoli, Mario Gila, Nuno Tavares, Adam Marušić, Mattéo Guendouzi, Gustav Isaksen, Mattia Zaccagni and Amsterdammer Tijjani Noslin out of the starting eleven. First goalkeeper Ivan Provedel also did not play. However, this had nothing to do with underestimation, according to the Italian trainer.
“The idea that my team could underestimate a match does not exist,” says Baroni. ‘We play in the Europa League and therefore face very strong opponents. This time we faced a very strong team in their own stadium, so there is no chance of us underestimating this kind of match. The more important matches we play, the higher our standards become.’
