Pedro ‘still enjoying’ football ahead of first Lazio start of season | OneFootball

Lazio veteran Pedro assures he is still ‘enjoying myself’ ahead of his first start of the season in the Europa League against Dynamo Kyiv.

It kicks off at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg at 20.00 UK time (19.00 GMT).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens on the LIVEBLOG.

“It’s always wonderful to play in Europe and I think it’s important for us. We have a difficult match against a strong opponent and will see if we can get a positive result,” Pedro told Sky Sport Italia.

“The tempo is always high in Europe, but Lazio are working well and I am happy to be in the competition with them. We are all motivated and hope to do well.”

This is the debut in UEFA competition for coach Marco Baroni at the age of 61, who was appointed over the summer after his experience at Hellas Verona.

“The coach is working hard on his tactical ideas, I think we’ve already seen some of his potential and we want to push even harder to get the result.”

Europa League still inspires Pedro

Pedro turned 37 in July and is under contract until the end of this season, when he is widely expected to hang up his boots.

There were two Serie A appearances so far this term, both coming off the bench, so tonight is his first start.

“I still enjoy myself, otherwise I wouldn’t still be playing. Time goes fast, but I try to enjoy every minute I spend on the pitch, especially in Europe, which is special to give the team a step forward.”

The Spaniard came to Italy in 2020 for Roma, then joined Lazio a year later in a free transfer.

He has 84 Champions League appearances under his belt, four in the European Super Cup, three in the Conference League and this is his 40th in the Europa League.