Sarri: 'A devastating season, we'll see what Lazio plans are'

Maurizio Sarri found the Lazio defeat to Fiorentina to be "frankly harsh" despite controlling the game, and has cast doubt on his future, stating, "We'll see what the club has in mind."

Lazio, coming off an unbeaten streak of four matches, faced an injury crisis with key players like Mattia Zaccagni, Toma Basic, and Patric forced back into the starting lineup for the match at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. Fiorentina secured the victory through a Robin Gosens header from a Jack Harrison cross, despite strong saves from David De Gea denying Zaccagni and Petar Ratkov.

Sarri frustrated with Lazio loss

Speaking to DAZN Italia, Sarri commented, "The goal was fortuitous, as until that moment and frankly for a while afterwards too, we were largely in control." He took responsibility for allowing too many counter-attacks but reiterated, "we kept the initiative throughout and the defeat feels frankly harsh considering the performances of the two teams." He highlighted a persistent issue: "A centre-forward figure inside the penalty area is something we’ve been lacking all season, we don’t get those runs into the box to meet the crosses. Ratkov had a chance late on with a header, but we do lack those characteristics."

The team's immediate focus shifts to the Coppa Italia semi-final, with the first leg ending in a 2-2 draw against Atalanta. "I hope to get players back, but it depends what condition they are in, because just being clinically healed is not enough. We want to finish the season with good performances, and for long periods we did that tonight too," Sarri added.

Lazio currently sits in ninth place in the league, four points behind Bologna and just one point ahead of Udinese. A top-eight finish would grant them a bye in the first round of next season's Coppa Italia. Sarri reacted with annoyance when questioned about "yet another defeat" away from home, stating, "Hold it there, only six teams have lost more than we have this season. If it was the first defeat, we’d be top of the table."

Addressing his own future and that of Lazio, Sarri expressed, "I am not worried about my future, for Lazio we’ll see what the plans are. I honestly don’t know what the plans are for the future, I can only say this season has been devastating for me. Just preparing tonight’s game we were missing 10 players, so we had to use some who were nowhere near fully fit. There have been many problems this season. We’ll see what the club has in mind for the future, and then we’ll see what I think as a consequence of that."

Sarri, who grew up near the Stadio Franchi, has been linked with a potential move to Fiorentina next season and received a warm reception from their supporters before the match.