Marco Baroni Slams Lazio ‘Messy’ Performance vs 10-Man Lecce

Lazio bounced back from an embarrassing 6-0 home defeat to Inter on Monday with a 2-1 win against 10-man Lecce last evening. Marco Baroni’s side left it late to beat Roberto D’Aversa’s strugglers as Adam Marusic netted a last-gasp winner.

Taty Castellanos fired Lazio in front on the stroke of halftime. The Argentine striker converted a spot-kick after Frederic Guilbert’s reckless handball on the goal line. In addition to handing the Biancocelesti a penalty, the Frenchman picked up a straight red.

However, Lecce replied only five minutes after the break. Tete Morente hammered a thunderous half-volley from outside the box past Ivan Provedel to draw the home team level. Yet, Lazio grabbed a late winner to maintain a four-point deficit on table-topping Napoli.

“It was a little messier than usual, Lecce were vehement in the challenge, which we expected. It really wasn’t beneficial for us to be against 10 men,” Baroni told Sky Sport via TMW. “I told them at half-time, we had to be organised and clear-headed, because it was not going to be any easier.

“In the second half, we put a lot of crosses in and lacked quality, but in 58 days this team has won 10 games and only lost two,” the Lazio boss continued. “These messy games, you don’t win them unless you knuckle down and have the right mentality. You need belief and unity to avoid losing your temper.”