MY ACCOUNT
Maurizio Sarri accepts Lazio’s opening goal in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Juventus could have been ruled out, but says the visitors were fortunate not to be reduced to nine men.
Lazio maintained their fine Serie A form with victory at Stadio Olimpico thanks to goals from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Mattia Zaccagni, either side of Adrien Rabiot’s equaliser.
Juve’s players were furious Milinkovic-Savic’s 38th-minute opener was allowed to stand as the midfielder nudged Alex Sandro in the back before controlling the ball and firing in.
But Sarri does not believe Juventus can complain too strongly as he feels Manuel Locatelli and Juan Cuadrado could easily have been sent off.
“From where I was, my impression is that the referee could have called for a foul,” Sarri told DAZN. “But I also got the impression Juve could have ended with nine men.
“There was a Locatelli foul that was worthy of a red card and Cuadrado should have had a second yellow card. That was clear when he was substituted off straight after.”
Referee Marco Di Bello allowed the goal to stand following a check of the pitchside monitor, seemingly adjudging that Alex Sandro went to ground too easily under contact.
Juve assistant coach Marco Landucci, who was standing in for the ill Massimiliano Allegri, did not want to dwell on the key call.
“The referee decides. Juve fans would say it was a foul, Lazio fans would say it wasn’t, but the only opinion that matters is that of the referee,” he said.
“All I can say is that our first half was below par, whereas we did much better after the break, deserved to score again and the draw would’ve been the fair result.
“As usual, we accept the result on the field. We don’t stir up controversy over these things.”
Rabiot bundled the ball over the line four minutes after Milinkovic-Savic’s strike, but Zaccagni restored Lazio’s lead early in the second half with what proved to be the winner.
The 27-year-old has reached double-figures for goals in a single Serie A season for the first time and is the only Italian to have scored 10 goals in the division this campaign.
Lazio’s second home win against Juve in 18 attempts tightens their grip on second place in Serie A, which Zaccagni says gives him more joy than any individual milestones.
“They’re both beautiful to hear, but second place is worth much more [than scoring 10 goals],” he said. “I always want to improve and hope to continue as I am.
“It’s going to be very difficult staying second. There are many teams around us, so we have to stay focused and score as many points as possible between now and the end.”
Juve conceded more than once away from home for the first time since mid-January, with this defeat leaving them eight points off the top four.
However, with an appeal against their 15-point deduction set to be held on April 19, the top-four battle may yet take another twist.
“It’s hard to say much about this,” Landucci said at his post-match press conference. “On the field, we’ve scored 59 points. Now we’ll wait to hear the appeal on the 19th.
“Lazio now only have to focus on the league, so they have a clear advantage.”
