![\"VERONA,](\"https:\/\/icdn.football-italia.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Alessio-Romagnoli-goodbye-310x207.jpg.webp)
<\/picture><\/div>\nVERONA, ITALY – JANUARY 11: Maurizio Sarri head coach of SS Lazio during the Serie A match between Hellas Verona FC and SS Lazio at Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi on January 11, 2026 in Verona, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Maurizio Sarri seemed downbeat after Lazio\u2019s 0-0 draw with Lecce, admitting the club is being \u2018downgraded\u2019 and not moving in the right direction. \u2018I promised I\u2019d accept any compromise.\u2019<\/p>\n
Both teams were in poor form going into the Stadio Via del Mare, and that anxiety was palpable in a dull 0-0 draw.<\/p>\n
The hosts had more chances, above all Ylber Ramadani\u2019s strike that bounced off the underside of the crossbar, and ended their run of four consecutive defeats with at least a point.<\/p>\n
It was the 11th<\/sup> clean sheet for Lazio, which might be the only positive news for their coach this evening.<\/p>\n \u201cI said many things to the Lazio fans. I said that this season I\u2019d do anything, and accept any kind of compromise, because I made a promise to them, they are showing so much love, which I cannot ever hope to repay in full,\u201d Sarri told Sky Sport Italia.<\/p>\n \u201cLazio is something you cannot understand from the outside. When you arrive here, it is unconditional love.\u201d<\/p>\n The coach was asked outright, are Lazio being downgraded during this season?<\/p>\n \u201cSo far, yes. We\u2019ll have to see where we are at the end of the season, but until now yes. The club tells me they want to build a young squad, but it has to be one of quality,\u201d replied Sarri.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t care about age, if there is quality, you can be 20 or 30, it makes no difference to me.<\/p>\n \u201cThe team did what it could today after a difficult week, unfortunately we wasted so many passes in the first half and made it difficult for ourselves. There were fewer mistakes in the second half, and we disappeared in the final third, but that is a recurring problem we\u2019re struggling to solve.\u201d<\/p>\n Lazio have sold Taty Castellanos because he didn\u2019t fit Sarri\u2019s style of football, but this evening he started Boulaye Dia rather than Tijjani Noslin or new signing Petar Ratkov.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought Dia didn\u2019t do badly in the first 10-20 minutes, but then the service wasn\u2019t the right quality, and that\u2019s not his strength. Ratkov seemed to improve slightly from when he first arrived, Taylor also improved from previous games.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have some strikers right now who are struggling to convert chances, or maybe it\u2019s our fault for not giving them the correct service. It\u2019s hard to evaluate, honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n This has been a tense week for the Biancocelesti, and Romagnoli was in the starting XI despite reports he has put in a transfer request to join Roberto Mancini\u2019s Al-Sadd.<\/p>\n After the final whistle, he went to the away end and seemed emotional as he shook hands with some of the ultras, handing over his jersey.<\/p>\n Are Lazio at least moving in the right direction?<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know. I have no idea right now, we\u2019ll have a better idea when things are more stable. At the moment, the overwhelming feeling is no, but we\u2019ll see what happens over the next few days, I might be proved wrong. Let\u2019s wait and see,\u201d concluded Sarri.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nSarri staying only for Lazio fans<\/h2>\n
![\"MILAN,](\"https:\/\/icdn.football-italia.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Maurizio-Sarri-up.jpg\")
![\"LECCE,](\"https:\/\/icdn.football-italia.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Kenneth-Taylor-Lazio.jpg\")
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