The common thought of Lazio fans approaching the Europa League match against Twente was quite clear. One point would move the table, keep Lazio among the top places in the table and finally give a positive result away from the Olimpico. Whether it’s Europe or Serie A, Lazio have disastrous numbers away from home. Before yesterday there had been 17 defeats in 30 previous away matches, including two victories against Torino and Dynamo Kiev this year. Everything seemed set for the classic failed match against Lazio, but instead a very clear answer came from Enschede. Baroni’s Lazio is here and has no intention of stopping, especially in Europe. And it is precisely the European performance that perfectly represents the revolution signed Marco Baroni. The double commitment had been the great concern for the Biancoceleste, the impossibility of making a turnover due to the total unreliability of the second lines had affected the past seasons.
The courage of choices
From Inzaghi to Sarri, moving forward in Europe automatically meant having a negative impact on the championship. In 2017/18 Inzaghi’s Lazio reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League, playing every three days even in April led to a steep collapse in the last two months of the season which denied the Biancocelesti access to the Champions League. The 2019/2020 season is the same Lazio by Inzaghi the Scudetto is played with Juve until the break due to Covid, to do so they unexpectedly exit the Europa League in the group stage. In Sarri’s second year, Lazio finished third in the group in the Europa League and found themselves in the Conference, where with minimal effort they were eliminated by the not-irresistible AZ Alkmaar. On the other hand, by focusing everything on the championship, he finished second and returned to the Champions League. The following year he gave priority to Europe and difficulties in the league led to Sarri’s resignation. Lazio cannot compete on multiple fronts. Until today this theorem was valid, the Baroni revolution is changing the scenarios. Lazio looks at all their rivals in the Europa League from top to bottom, they already have the certainty of being in the playoffs with nine points and with two more victories they almost mathematically secure the pass to the round of 16. Who would have thought that four months ago? Only Marco Baroni.