Baroni: 'Lazio need to recharge the batteries'

Marco Baroni admits Lazio are starting to feel the strain from a packed campaign after scraping the 2-1 victory over 10-man Lecce. ‘We need to recharge the batteries.’

The Biancocelesti were still smarting after the 6-0 defeat to Inter, so confidence was rather low going into the Stadio Via del Mare.

They took the lead with a Taty Castellanos penalty when Frederic Guilbert was sent off for clearing off the line with his arm, but Lecce still got back on level terms with Tete Morente’s volley.

It wasn’t until the 87th minute when Adam Marusic came off the bench to snatch a winner, though even then the crossbar denied Mohamed Kaba’s header in stoppages.

“It was a little messier than usual, Lecce were vehement in the challenge, which we expected. It really wasn’t beneficial for us to be against 10 men,” insisted Baroni on Sky Sport Italia.

“I told them at half-time, we had to be organised and clear-headed, because it was not going to be any easier. In the second half, we put a lot of crosses in and lacked quality, but in 58 days this team has won 10 games and only lost two. These messy games, you don’t win them unless you knuckle down and have the right mentality. You need belief and unity to avoid losing your temper.”

Baroni sees tired Lazio in need of restepa11789037 SS Lazio’s Taty Castellanos celebrates with supporters after scoring the 1-0 lead during the Italian Serie A soccer match between US Lecce and SS Lazo at the Via del Mare stadium in Lecce, Italy, 21 December 2024. EPA-EFE/ABBONDANZA SCURO LEZZI

There is a recurring theme for Lazio, because Marusic provided the 10th Serie A goal of the season coming off the bench.

“The players were a little less sharp, they will have very brief vacation time for Christmas and it is important they use that to recharge the batteries. I tried to change the wide options because Lecce were keeping the lines tight and we had to attack them down the outside.”

Will Baroni also take time away from football or is he already thinking about the next match against Atalanta on December 28?

“I will spend time with my family and my grandchildren, so clearly I too need to recharge. It’s a packed fixture list, there are players like Castellanos and Dia who are struggling with the long journeys on international duty on top of everything else.”

While Lecce had Guilbert sent off, Lazio also effectively ended the match down to 10 men, because Tijjani Noslin was visibly struggling for the last 10 minutes and had to be helped off the field in tears at the final whistle.

“Romagnoli had just come off an injury and Noslin was practically standing still, so we got too deep and the fear set in. We could’ve dealt with that last Rebic cross a lot better, we were lucky,” concluded Baroni.

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