Fabio Grosso acknowledges Sassuolo’s premature success this season, yet points to a lack of maturity and ‘naive errors’ as factors in their 2-1 loss to Lazio. The Neroverdi had been on a strong run, securing five victories in their last six Serie A fixtures, with their only defeat coming against league leaders Inter. A win against Lazio would have seen them surpass Bologna into eighth place.
They managed to bounce back from an incredibly early setback, conceding to Daniel Maldini just 80 seconds into the match, and drew level through Armand Laurienté. However, they were undone deep into stoppage time. Goalkeeper Arijanet Muric’s misjudgment, a recurring issue this season, saw him leave his line at the wrong moment, enabling Adam Marusic to head a Matteo Cancellieri cross into an unguarded net.
Grosso Sees Room for Sassuolo Improvement
“Our initial approach wasn’t right, but there is an issue of maturity that requires certain steps in the process, and we are very much ahead of schedule this season,” Grosso told Sky Sport Italia. “If we managed to be consistent too, then we’d be even higher up the table. We reacted to the opening goal, started the second half well too, but we lost intensity in the closing stages.”
He attributed this more to a psychological dip than physical fatigue, particularly after squandering two significant scoring opportunities and subsequently committing elementary mistakes. “It would’ve been important to bring home at least a point, as Lazio might be having difficulties, but they remain a very strong team. They were able to bring on fresh legs in attack that made the difference.”
With Andrea Pinamonti suspended, M’Bala Nzola made his first start for Sassuolo, but some of the substitutions failed to provide the desired impact. Grosso explained, “We certainly could’ve done better. I usually don’t change the two full-backs, but Coulibaly was struggling for fitness, while Garcia had just been booked and Lazio were pushing hard on those duels down the flanks, so I didn’t want us to go down to 10 men. That meant I couldn’t use those two substitutions to change in attack.”
He expressed regret over the missed opportunities. “It’s a pity, we had some big chances just moments before conceding the last goal. When we are not at full intensity, teams with this kind of quality will make it count. It’s a pity we conceded that goal at the end, we go back home with a bitter taste in our mouths. We must remember that if we’re not pushing to the max, a side like ours will drop points.”
Despite the recent defeat, Sassuolo is still enjoying a remarkably positive season, especially considering they were only promoted from Serie B last summer. They currently sit in ninth place, just one point behind local rivals Bologna.
Grosso highlighted the diverse nature of his squad: “We have a mix of different nationalities and cultures, plus some Italians who have done so much in the past, one of them winning the Euros, many youngsters who are growing. We have an interesting combination.”
As the man who scored the decisive penalty to win the 2006 World Cup for Italy, Grosso offered advice for the Azzurri preparing for upcoming play-offs. “I think you need the right balance between healthy fear of a big occasion and the clear-headed approach to enjoy the football. It’s been too long since we’ve been away from the World Cup, so we all hope to do our part by cheering on the team.”