Maurizio Sarri was pleased to be able to help out former club Napoli as his Lazio side's 4-0 thrashing of Milan on Tuesday gave the Serie A leaders another boost in their title charge.
Sarri was born in Naples and managed the Partenopei between 2015 and 2018, who under Luciano Spalletti now look set to end a 33-year wait for Scudetto success.
Napoli's lead at the top was 12 points heading into Milan's game with Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico, and that remained the case following a rampant display from the hosts.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Mattia Zaccagni had Sarri's men cruising at the break, and Luis Alberto and Felipe Anderson added second-half goals as Milan's bid to close the gap to the Serie A summit to nine points fell woefully short.
While Sarri was keen to focus on his team's performance, he also said he found pleasure in assisting his old club, telling DAZN: "We mainly gave ourselves a gift. We cared a lot for the standings and to show how much we have grown.
"If Napoli are well placed in the standings, for me it's nothing but a reason for satisfaction."
The sparkling display against Milan was Lazio's second straight league win and hoisted them from sixth up into third, just a point behind the reigning champions.
Aside from their impressive attacking performance, Sarri's men picked up an 11th clean sheet in 19 Serie A games so far this campaign, equalling the club record for clean sheets at this point in a top-flight season.
Former Chelsea boss Sarri was delighted with how his team performed and suggested it may have been the best they had played under him since arriving at the club in 2021.
"In terms of technical, tactical enjoyment, today was one of the best," Sarri added. "Perhaps the best.
"This group has always given me total availability and we can do well if we remove the flaw of not picking up away points against inferior teams on paper."
The victory moved Lazio above top-four rivals Inter and Roma on goal difference, after their bid for Champions League qualification already received a big hand on Saturday with Juventus' 15-point deduction for alleged false accounting.
Sarri hopes his side can maintain their momentum and continue their assault on the top four against Fiorentina on Sunday, saying: "At the final whistle, I thought that in a few days we have a very difficult match against Fiorentina.
"We must not think about the long term, but keep the adrenaline seen tonight also in the next matches. Unfortunately, this has sometimes been our flaw.
"We do the maximum of what we can do, then at the end of the season we'll sum up. There are teams that are better equipped for me [to finish top four], but we still take it one game at a time and see what comes of it."
Nzonzi: Sevilla's Europa League dominance comparable to Real Madrid's Champions League aura
Sevilla's aura in the Europa League is similar to the fear Real Madrid instil into Champions League opponents, says Steven Nzonzi.
Jose Mourinho's Roma were the latest team to fall foul of Sevilla in a Europa League final as the Andalusian side extended their remarkable record of wins in UEFA's second-tier club competition to seven.
Only five teams – Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Liverpool and Bayern Munich – have won more major European honours than Sevilla, who beat Roma 4-1 on penalties after a tightly contested 1-1 draw in Budapest.
Nzonzi, who helped Unai Emery's Sevilla beat Liverpool in 2016 to seal a third straight Europa League crown, believes the club have now created such an air of dominance in the tournament that they can be compared to Madrid, who have won the Champions League/European Cup on 14 occasions.
He told Stats Perform: "I don't know if they are the greatest team, it is hard to say but, of course they are one of the best teams to play in that competition.
"I really feel they have that energy that experience going on in that competition and it makes them win, it reminds me of Real Madrid in the Champions League.
"Real Madrid are another level and the won the Champions League more [times] than Sevilla won the Europa League but [Sevilla are] one of those teams when they are in that competition, you feel like anything is possible and they can win it."
Asked why Sevilla are able to sustain such success in the Europa League, Nzonzi replied: "It's really hard to say because sometimes you play against other teams that are better than you.
"They may play better or on paper have better players than you but you are still the one ending the game or winning the competition.
"I think it's the whole vibe, the whole energy going on, in the changing room, in the club there is a confidence because if you already won it one, two, three, four, five, six times, you have the confidence to win it again and feel that you are the superior team in that competition.
"Then there is the fans. I watched the semi-final and when Juventus played in Sevilla, I looked at the fans and I said, 'They [Juve] are not winning, the fans are just so good'. They are just pushing you so much, it is very difficult for the other team to feel confident.
"I think the big thing with Sevilla is the fans. I feel it is a big part of the energy that is happening for them in the Europa league.
"I remember going to the stadium and having a lot of fans not stopping the bus, but following the bus. [In the 2015-16 final] there were much more Liverpool fans in the stadium, but we still could feel the energy of the Sevilla fans."
Sevilla were embroiled in a relegation scrap in LaLiga until Jose Luis Mendilibar replaced Jorge Sampaoli in March, and while they are set for a mid-table finish, their Europa League triumph means Champions League football beckons next term.
"It feels like the Europa League has big things to do with Sevilla, because it is just incredible," Nzonzi added.
"And I think it is even better because they are not qualifying for the Champions League through LaLiga."
Caoimhin Kelleher should leave Liverpool to lift Republic career – Stephen Kenny
Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny has admitted goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher needs to leave Liverpool this summer if he is to fulfil his potential.
The 24-year-old will meet up with his international colleagues ahead of the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Greece and Gibraltar later this month and resume his battle with Gavin Bazunu for the role of Ireland’s number one.
However, the man who played in the Reds’ 2022 Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea is still firmly in the shadow of Brazilian star Alisson Becker at Anfield and made just four club appearances for his club last season, and Kenny expects him to seek pastures new before the new campaign gets under way.
He said: “I would fully expect that. It’s not right normally to speak about a player moving, but he’s at the stage where he’s behind probably one of the best goalkeepers in the world and it’s not going to get any easier.
“He can’t afford not playing. He knows that and he’s known that for a while. It’s not easy. There’s a process you go through with a club like that and I think and it wouldn’t be a surprise for him to move in the summer, and he knows that.
“I think he’s ready to go and play regularly because he needs to. It’s hard to leave Liverpool, it’s such an iconic club, but he’s not so young now. He’s 24 and he needs to play and he knows that.”
Kenny faces something of a conundrum with his keepers, with Kelleher, Bazunu and Mark Travers all at Premier League clubs, but struggling for regular football.
Bazunu, 21, lost his place at Southampton as they fought, ultimately unsuccessfully, to stave off relegation, although his international manager is optimistic his confidence will not be affected by that experience.
Kenny said: “He’s done remarkable, really, in a short career, Gavin as well. For one so young, he’s done remarkably well. He’s always looked very confident playing for us.”
Full-back Matt Doherty is another man who has been starved of football this season having made just two brief appearances as a substitute for Atletico Madrid since joining them from Tottenham in January.
Kenny said: “I’m sure when he took that move, he knew he would find it hard for games, but he thought he would play an amount of games, for sure. He couldn’t have envisaged that he wouldn’t play at all. That was frustrating for him and tough mentally to deal with.”
Kenny has been forced to omit Rotherham striker Chiedozie Ogbene from his 25-man squad for the games against Greece in Athens on June 16 and Gibraltar in Dublin three days later after he failed to recover from a hamstring injury.
However, 18-year-old Brighton counterpart Evan Ferguson will report for a nine-day training camp in Antalya full of confidence at the end of his breakthrough season.
Kenny said: “He’s taken everything in his stride, he’s a single-minded individual and nothing has fazed him. He seems to be able to adapt to whatever the occasion demands.”
Fiorentina aim to take out frustration on West Ham in Conference League final
Fiorentina will look to take their Coppa Italia frustrations out on West Ham in next week’s Europa Conference League final.
The Viola, seeking a first major trophy since 2001, have reached two finals this season but missed their first opportunity to end that wait for silverware when they were beaten 2-1 by Inter Milan last week, with Lautaro Martinez’s brace cancelling out an early Nicolas Gonzalez strike.
That has added to Fiorentina’s motivation going into Wednesday’s final against the Hammers in Prague on Wednesday.
Goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano, speaking to Sky Sports Italia at a media day on Thursday, said: “We must face all games in the best way knowing that the final is very important for us and the city. It’s the game of the season in Prague.
“It will be different from the Coppa Italia final. We’ll face a different opponent. But we played a great game against Inter and I am sure the same will happen with West Ham. This is our certainty, we’ll give our all to win the trophy.”
Coach Vincenzo Italiano said the key to success would be cutting out the mistakes that cost Fiorentina against Inter.
“We’ve had a great season, and we deserved the chance to play for this trophy, we are aware of our strength but we know that every error makes the difference in a final,” said Italiano.
“Every detail matters and we want to give joy to our fans.”
Fiorentina sit ninth in Serie A going into their final league fixture away to Sassuolo on Friday night, before all attention turns to West Ham.
Asked about David Moyes’ side, Italiano said: “They haven’t done well in the league, but they have a very competitive team with top-class players and a competent coach. We must focus on ourselves and be free in our minds.”
For last week’s goalscorer Gonzalez, losing to Inter is not the only disappointment he has endured this season.
The 25-year-old midfielder has been capped 22 times by Argentina but missed out on their World Cup squad, watching on from home as his team-mates lifted the trophy in Qatar.
Wednesday’s final gives him a much-needed opportunity to win a medal himself.
“We are experiencing so many emotions, I am happy to have reached two finals,” he said. “We lost the first one, but now there is another big game and we want to win.
“Some things hurt me last year, especially not going to the World Cup. I wasn’t fit, but some thought it was a fake injury. I never did it, I always want to be 100 per cent when I play football. We have 90 minutes and we want to make the difference.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
