Lazio Boss Simone Inzaghi Admits His Side Must Improve After Opening Day Defeat Against Napoli

Lazio manager Simone Inzaghi criticised his team for losing concentration to let their lead over Napoli slip in their opening match of the season at the Stadio

Lazio manager Simone Inzaghi criticised his team for losing concentration to let their lead over Napoli slip in their opening match of the season at the Stadio Olimpico.

Ciro Immobile gave the Biancocelesti the lead, but Napoli replied with strikes from Arkadiusz Milik and Lorenzo Insigne to take the three points back home to the Amalfi coast and leave Lazio empty-handed.

Marco Rosi/GettyImages

“It was our usual blackout,” Inzaghi told DAZN (via Football Italia), referring to the manner in which Lazio lost to Inter on the final day of last season to miss out on Champions League football.

Inzaghi thought his team deserved more based on their performance on the pitch, saying: “I don’t think we deserved to lose, as it all happened in 10 minutes. We had played well and allowed Napoli practically nothing, but lacked that concentration we needed in these games.

⏱ First game of the season.
⚽️ First goal of the season.

👊 Just another day in the life of Ciro Immobile. pic.twitter.com/wotLbPLrFz

— bet365 (@bet365) August 18, 2018

“I’m afraid we had some players who only started training on August 2-3 and I had to use them tonight. The fixture list wasn’t kind either with a difficult start, but we’ve got to roll our sleeves up and get to work.”

Lazio remain one of the strongest contenders to qualify for the Champions League this season and Inzaghi still believes his side can achieve this despite their opening day defeat, adding: “We have the opportunity to confirm our status and we must try to do that. Napoli and Juventus remain the two best teams in the league and we must never lower our guard against them.

Marco Rosi/GettyImages

“We’ve got to build on our first half-hour, where we played very well.”

Lazio's difficult start to the season continues when they head to Torino to face seven-time champions Juventus next weekend.