Lazio Rome goes into the duel with Bayern Munich as outsiders. But be careful: Coach Maurizio Sarri’s team has its pitfalls.
Mathijs de Ligt still has many friends in Italy. Among other things, in the “Gazzetta dello Sport”, the daily sports newspaper from the Apennines. And so the newspaper’s journalists found the Bayern defender a very welcome interview partner before Lazio Rome’s game against FC Bayern.
When asked about Lazio’s feared strengths, the Dutchman first spoke about striker Ciro Immobile. “He knows where he has to be as a center forward. He always moves hard on the offside line and scores a lot of goals. He is very dangerous,” says de Ligt.
Best goalscorer: Ciro Immobile
Immobile is once again Lazio’s top goalscorer this season. The 33-year-old has scored nine goals in 27 competitive games.
But it’s not just the former Dortmund player (2014-15), who once wasn’t able to really gain a foothold in the Bundesliga, that FC Bayern have to pay close attention to. De Ligt also believes that the coaching fox on the sidelines is good for any surprise. “Maurizio Sarri always wants to play with a proven system, a lot of tactics and intensity,” explains the defender, who once played under the 65-year-old at Juventus Turin: “I became a much better player under him,” says de Ligt.
Behind in the league
However, Bayern face an opponent who is definitely struggling. Lazio is currently only eighth in the table and is already five points behind a repeat Champions League spot. The defeat at our direct rivals in Bergamo (1:3) a week ago was bitter, meaning that crucial ground was potentially lost.
At least Lazio managed the dress rehearsal before the Bayern game: the team won 3-1 against relegation candidate Cagliari. Goalscorer Immobile stated: “We have to prepare the duel with Bayern like we did the Cagliari game: with pure joy and ease.”
Kamada – didn’t arrive properly
Ex-Frankfurt player Daichi Kamada doesn’t really get along at all at Lazio. The Japanese, who was hoping for another career boost by moving to Italy, is usually left out of the starting eleven under Sarri. If Kamada is lucky, he’ll come off the bench at some point in the second 45 minutes.
36 years old, still important: Pedro
More important is the Brazilian Felipe Anderson, who has so far scored three goals and seven assists in 32 competitive games. Pedro, now 36, still plays a big role. The Spaniard, who moved to AS Roma in Italy in 2020 after a total of twelve years at Barcelona and Chelsea, left after just one year for local rivals Lazio. The Romans cannot do without him in the build-up game.
Too few goals, too little offensive power
Left winger Mattia Zaccagni, the most valuable Lazio star with a market value of 25 million euros, is injured. So it’s no wonder that Sarri sees his team as underdogs. “We are playing against a team at the absolute top level, one of the strongest in the world. It will be an extremely difficult game, bordering on impossible,” he said before the game.
Lazio’s problem is clearly forward movement. In 23 league games, top scorer Immobile and Co. only scored 28 goals, and seven in six games in the Champions League. FC Bayern will probably have to prepare for quite a defensive bulwark in light blue.