AZ will take on Lazio Roma tomorrow evening. At stake is a place in the quarterfinals of the Conference League. The Alkmaarders defend a 2-1 lead from the first leg in Rome. AZ striker Vangelis Pavlidis is in awe, but not afraid of the Italians, as it turned out at the closing press conference today. “They have one of the best defenses in Europe.”
Vangelis Pavlidis: “Lazio is not coming here to visit the Netherlands” – NH Sport
“I think Lazio is doing very well in the league. They are third and conced few goals,” said Pavlidis, who scored the equalizer in the first leg, about the Italian club. “They have one of the best defenses in Europe. We scored against them twice, but there was also some luck involved.”
“Lazio is a big club and it is normal that they have good players. We have to focus on ourselves”
Tomorrow evening, AZ will again have to put in a strong performance if they want to reach the last eight of the Conference League. “Lazio has a lot of good players. Immobile is not there. They still have Pedro, Luis Alberto and Milinkovic-Savic. Lazio is a big club and it is normal that they have good players. We have to focus on ourselves.” said the 24-year-old Greek top scorer of the Alkmaarders.
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Vangelis Pavlidis: “You always need luck against Lazio” – NH Sport
AZ coach Pascal Jansen agreed with Pavlidis’ words that the race is far from over. “We want to survive this round. It is a strong opponent. We have a good starting point. A good result is now very important for us.”
Derby of Rome
An interesting detail is that Lazio will play the derby against fellow townsman AS Roma this weekend. “We have done our homework well. In the Conference League they often play with other players, but also a number of times towards the strongest line-up. It will have to wait and see tomorrow. I dare not make an assessment about that. For us, our own game against Lazio important.”
The match in Alkmaar between AZ and Lazio starts tomorrow at 9 p.m. After the game, the reactions of those involved can be found on this website.
Pascal Jansen: “We want to survive this round and have a good starting point” – NH Sport