Sarri: "It Was One Of The Most Exciting Matches Of My Careers"

Maurizio Sarri admitted that he did not expect the adrenaline generated in the derby della capitale when Lazio played Roma on Sunday (26/09) evening local time. Moreover, when his team succeeded in silencing their city rivals with a score of 3-2, the coach did not expect to be very satisfied.

Lazio was completely unfavorable before this derby clash having picked up just two points from their last four matches in Serie A and the Europa League. However, they controlled the game from the start and emerged victorious through goals from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Pedro, and Felipe Anderson.

Roger Ibanez's header and Jordan Veretout's controversial penalty made the game even tenser in the last minute. But Sarri was able to celebrate his side's victory after the final whistle by holding the club's mascot, an Olympian eagle, in front of fans on the Curva Nord.

"She sleeps near my room at the Formello training base, so I sometimes hear her," Sarri said with a smile via DAZN.

Felipe Anderson became one of the stars in the derby match with one goal and also an assist contribution.

"He should continue at this level of performance, my concern is that he doesn't realize the strength he has, he plays with a lack of confidence, so I hope he can gain his confidence."

In addition to being satisfied with his team's victory, the coach also expressed his disappointment at conceding two goals from set pieces.

"The thing is this is real football, not video games, tonight I have seen seven or eight situations that I like, but we can't imitate one team and make it work elsewhere. This team has its potential and is still waiting to be let out.

"I'm just disappointed that we played well defensively but still conceded two goals from set-pieces.

"We tested a few situations yesterday for Roma's header it wasn't an easy situation because Veretout had two or three great corners, we struggled a little bit."

This is the first derby della Capitale for Sarri and he has said before that he is feeling more nervous ahead of the Serie C game than preparing for the derby against Roma.

"I'll admit it, it was one of the most exciting matches of my career, I didn't expect the derby to give you this kind of adrenaline and satisfaction after winning it."