Three Things We Learned From Atalanta vs Lazio: Sarri Abandons Sarrismo for Love | OneFootball

On Sunday, Atalanta and Lazio shared the spoils following a goalless draw in Bergamo. While this result hardly improved their mediocre standing, the visitors were certainly the happier side, as they survived La Dea’s second-half onslaught, mostly thanks to the heroics of Mario Gila and Ivan Provedel, in addition to a pinch of luck.

Despite the stalemate, the outcome provided us with several interesting talking points, including the following three.

Maurizio Sarri Values Lazio More Than His Football Principles

When asked why he decided to return to the club, Maurizio Sarri’s answer was loud and clear: For the love of Lazio.

When the club was slapped with a transfer ban that prevented him from bringing in the players he was promised, the 66-year-old decided to stick by, and for the same reason, that is the love of Lazio. “I wouldn have done it for any other club”, he recently affirmed.

And if there was was still any remaining doubt over the manager’s passion for the Aquile, then how about his most recent sacrifice: His football philosophy

Watching the team sit back and entirely give up ball possession, one would have never guessed that Sarri is the man in charge. However, the manager, who built his fame on a stubborn tactical style based on ball possession, has realized that his ways would lead the club to the abyss, as he would only be pounding his head against the wall.

So forced to choose between his Lazio and his ‘Sarrismo’, Sarri picked Lazio.

Formello, We Have a Problem

If the transfer ban wasn’t damaging enough, then how about a seemingly never-ending injury crisis. Lazio entered the contest without Taty Castellanos, Luca Pellegrini, Nicolo Rovella, Samuel Gigot and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, while Mattia Zaccagni, Boulaye Dia, Matias Vecino and Adam Marusic had barely recovered.

But true to their habit, the Biancocelesti insisted on losing at least one key player per week, and this time, it was Matteo Cancellieri’s turn. The winger’s absence will be a major blow given his growing importance to the cause.

While Sarri insisted that the newly-renovated training grounds at Formello aren’t the cause behind this peculiarly large number of muscle injuries, someone has to explain why these players are falling like flies when they’re only playing once a week.

Lazio Lost Without Taty Castellanos

Speaking of absences, Castellanos’ has to be one of the most difficult to digest, especially in the newly-adopted Sarri regime, based on counterattacks and long balls. The Argentine is expectional when it comes to bringing down long ball in the centre of the pitch and holding back his marker while waiting for reinforcement to arrive.

For his part, Boulaye Dia is hardworking, versatile, and can be clinical in front of goal, but he lacks the previously mentioned attributes that are so crucial for Sarri’s current gameplan. Therefore, Taty’s absence has been sorely missed.