Even Maurizio Sarri is at a loss to explain Lazio woes… as head coach stumped by form with his job on line ahead of Celtic clash

‘If I was sure this was my fault, I would leave.’

Maurizio Sarri’s comments might not tell the whole story about the sorry state Lazio are in ahead of Celtic’s visit, but they do sketch a strong outline.

Two-and-a-half years into his Roman reign, the former Chelsea manager is facing more outspoken critics than ever before after one of his worst results yet.

Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of Salernitana was as bad as it gets in Serie A right now. Before kick-off, Pippo Inzaghi’s side hadn’t won a league game all season and propped up the table.

But the result also underlined issues that have plagued Lazio throughout 2023/24: a tendency to flop against lower-table sides, a misfiring attack and an over- reliance on a handful of players.

‘The performance of a lot of players isn’t at the level of last season,’ Sarri said. ‘Maybe that is my fault, but we must all accept responsibility.

‘If I was the Lazio owner, I would be tough. I’m not a fan of going into a ritiro [a punitive training camp] but I would do something to break this inertia. The team has lost character and initiative; something isn’t working.’

It’s true that the high bar set last season has made this year’s stuttering start a bitter pill to swallow. Lazio have gone from a second-place finish, their highest since winning the Scudetto in 1999/2000, to the bottom half of the table. Of their six league defeats, four came against teams they were expected to beat with little fuss: Lecce, Genoa, Bologna and Salernitana.

Now, after 13 matches, Lazio are 10 points worse off than they were at this point last term and are off to their most miserable start to a league campaign for a decade.

No wonder club president Claudio Lotito is leaving not-so-subtle messages in the media.

‘We need to see a turnaround straight away, or heads will roll very soon,’ he said.

The startling drop in performance levels hasn’t just left fans perplexed, though. Sarri, one of Italy’s most tactically astute coaches, is also baffled.

‘I don’t understand what is different about me compared to last year. If anything, I’m pushing them even more,’ he said.

‘If, over the next few days, I decide that it’s my fault, I’ll be the first to take the decision to leave by speaking with the president.’

Misfiring Lazio have endured their most miserable start to a league campaign for a decade

The chief issue plaguing Lazio is a chronic lack of goals. Although the attacking trident that fired them to second last season remains the same — Ciro Immobile, Felipe Anderson and Mattia Zaccagni — the loss of midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to Al Hilal over the summer has been sorely felt. Lazio have struggled to create in the absence of the influential Serbian, a former Serie A midfielder of the year, with Luis Alberto now shouldering the burden of creative responsibility.

Saturday’s trip to Salerno was the first time this season that Lazio were without Alberto, through suspension, and they collapsed to their worst result yet while failing to test the joint-worst defence in the division.

In their last six games, Lazio have scored four goals but only one has been from open play — Immobile’s winner against Feyenoord in the last Champions League round. Last season’s success was built on a solid defence that kept a club record 22 clean sheets and a ruthless attack that regularly outperformed xG.

Sarri managed to rediscover some of that defensive steel before the international break, conceding once in four games, but an injury to key defender Alessio Romagnoli left them looking disorganised in Salerno with a rarely-tested pairing of Patric and Mario Gila — who are now expected to start against Celtic too.

Despite the crumbling foundations, Lazio have regularly proven themselves dangerous on big occasions.

Last season, they beat all their fellow ‘big seven’ clubs in Serie A, while, this year, they have beaten Napoli and Atalanta and claimed back-to-back European wins over Celtic and Feyenoord.

There has been a pattern of Lazio producing in big matches, and few are bigger than Tuesday, with a reaction badly needed and a European campaign in the balance.

‘Lazio need to ask themselves some questions,’ former Lazio midfielder Marco Parolo told DAZN. ‘The match against Celtic is so important.

‘In the league, they are starting to distance themselves from the pack, and we aren’t seeing the same levels as last year.’

Lazio will be without Alessio Romagnoli, Nicolo Casale and Zaccagni against Celtic

Midfielder Danilo Cataldi spoke after the Salernitana defeat about how Lazio ‘need to change course or else our objectives will be unreachable’.

Despite storm clouds gathering over the Stadio Olimpico, a win on Tuesday would put Lazio into the Champions League last 16 with a game to spare if it’s combined with an Atletico Madrid victory over Feyenoord.

That would be quite some achievement for a side competing in Europe’s top-tier competition for only the second time in 15 years, and would buy Sarri some time as he tries to work out how to get this team ticking in Serie A.

‘I hope it’s a different story in the Champions League because the mentality of the team in the league worries me,’ Sarri said.

‘Sometimes they can perform miracles in the Champions League. We will see if we go out on the pitch against Celtic with a different mindset.’

They well might, although they will also go out without three key players: Romagnoli, injured centre-back Nicolo Casale and winger Zaccagni, who picked up an injury in Salerno.

Pedro is likely to take a place up front instead, an unwelcome sight for Celtic fans after his last-gasp heroics at Parkhead in October. Crucially, Alberto will be back in midfield.

Sarri is right about Lazio’s different mentality in this competition. The distracted complacency that has plagued them in Serie A has not been on show in the midweek games.

That stands in stark contrast to previous seasons, where it has often been the other way around, Lazio performing better at the weekend and flopping regularly in the Europa League.

Lazio slumped to a 2-1 defeat at bottom-of-the-table Salernitana in Serie A on Saturday

This year, however, apart from being outplayed by Feyenoord in Rotterdam, Lazio have been experts at finding a way on the continent. In the unforgettable opener against Atletico, goalkeeper Ivan Provedel equalised with the last kick of the game.

In Glasgow, Lazio fought back to win. And last time out, at home to Feyenoord, they looked more like the side of last season than ever, Immobile superbly taking his chance when it came before the side defended admirably to hold onto a nervy win.

A raucous atmosphere is to be expected, with Lazio’s Black Friday ticket sale going down a storm with fans who have spent much of the season complaining about higher ticket prices.

The mood may be sour and the goals may have dried up, but there is still a hope and a belief that the Champions League can be the saving grace in a season that has otherwise produced few moments to savour so far.