MILAN (AP) — Lazio will be looking to draw on the spirit of its Champions League campaign to turn things around in Serie A.
Lazio hosts Atalanta on Sunday having won just two of its opening seven league matches, losing four of them. Last season’s runner-up sits 16th in the league, four points above the relegation zone.
But in the Champions League it is a different story.
A 96th-minute equalizer from goalkeeper Ivan Provedel saw Lazio mark its return back to Europe’s elite with a 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid last month. And another stoppage-time goal on Wednesday saw it go one better and snatch a 2-1 win at Celtic.
“I hope that tonight’s match gives us a boost of courage that kickstarts a more positive period,” Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri said after the Celtic game. “I hope this result can give us a positive reaction, some confidence and belief.”
It is not the first time Lazio has had to deal with the difficulties of combining European soccer with its domestic duties.
However, while it impressed in Serie A last season it appeared sluggish and disinterested in first the Europa League and then the Europa Conference League.
The reverse appears to be happening now.
“This is a risk that can happen, we’ve talked about it among ourselves,” Sarri said. “Some of the players who were here last season are underperforming compared to last year.
“So it may be true, this competition (the Champions League) is so wonderful and rewarding that it might be sparking a sense of complacency.”
Lazio followed up its result against Atletico with another 1-1 draw, against Monza in the league.
It will face a sterner test against Atalanta, which is having a solid start to the season.
Atalanta has won three of its last four matches in all competitions — drawing the other one against Juventus — and hasn’t conceded a goal in that run.
But Lazio — which came from behind to win a match for the first time this season on Wednesday — will be hoping its newfound, never-say-die attitude gives it the boost it needs.
“We know that we haven’t got off on the right foot in the league and we have to get back to our true levels,” Lazio defender Alessio Romagnoli said. “We’re going back to Rome with the knowledge that we got a great result and that we have a lot of quality. Now we just have to show that in the league.”
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