Luiz Felipe: ‘Bitter draw, Lazio must do as the coach says to progress’
Lazio defender Luiz Felipe said the 2-2 draw with Cagliari was ‘bitter’ and despite admitting the Biancocelesti are ‘going through some difficulty’, he believes the team will develop under Maurizio Sarri.
The Aquile are without a win in their last three games, including the 1-0 defeat to Galatasaray in the Europa League.
Danilo Cataldi saved a point against the Rossoblu, but Luiz Felipe said the team were not happy with only one point against Walter Mazzarri’s men.
“A bitter draw because we played 45 extraordinary minutes, but we’ll learn from this,” Luiz Felipe told Lazio Style Radio.
“We went under, and we did well to catch up. Now, we must rest for the important game on Thursday.
“We are going through some difficulty, but it’s not an excuse. We must stay focused for 90 minutes. We can’t enter the second half and concede after 20 seconds.
“The coach always asks us to play and not play long balls, he gives us confidence. Today, we did well in the first 45 minutes.”
The Aquile continue with an away trip to Torino on Thursday and then the Derby della Capitale against Roma.
But the Brazilian defender is focused on one game at a time and stressed the Biancocelesti will prepare for the local rivals in due time.
“In Serie A there’s never an easy game,” he said. “But if we have the same attitude of the first half [against Cagliari], we can do well.
“Then we’ll think about the derby later. When you change your way of playing, it’s normal to have some problems. But this doesn’t have to be an excuse.
“We need to do what the coach asks of us and understand it as soon as possible. We must look at the positive things, but also the negative ones. That’s the only way to progress.”