Baroni Insists Lazio Didn’t Deserve UEL Exit, Explains Penalty Choices & Tavares Debacle

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The Laziali

·18 aprile 2025

Baroni Insists Lazio Didn’t Deserve UEL Exit, Explains Penalty Choices & Tavares Debacle

Lazio manager Marco Baroni was left distraught by the dramatic Europa League elimination at the hands of Bodo/Glimt, as he feels his team deserved better.

Lazio Eliminated from Europa League in Dramatic Fashion

The Biancocelesti lost the first leg of the quarter-finals in Norway by two unanswered goals. However, they managed to pull off a comeback for the ages thanks to Taty Castellanos’s cheeky backheel and Tijjani Noslin’s last-gasp equalizer which sent the match to extra time.

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Boulaye Dia thought he had bagged the winner, but Andreas Helmersen levelled the scoring to take the contest to penalty shootouts, where the Norwegian champions prevailed 3-2.

Marco Baroni Disappointed with Lazio Exit

In his post-match interviews (via LazioNews24), Baroni expressed his great disappointment, insisting his team deserved to progress to the semi-finals based on their second-leg performance.

It hurts because we deserved to advance to the next round. The team played an extraordinary game, we created chances and were able to take the aggression out of their game. We had opportunities. I’m sorry for how it ended, but I’m proud of the boys. I thank the wonderful crowd and congratulate everyone, including those who took the spot kicks.

Penalty Woes

Loum Tchaouna, Noslin and Castellanos all failed to score from the spot, so the manager explained his choices.

I thanked the team at the end of the match, I am proud of them because penalties are like the lottery. There are many aspects to consider, so we asked who felt up to it, as the penalty taker in such an important match must feel the desire. I also want to congratulate those who missed. Taty was destroyed. He told me he felt like shooting. He wanted to be a protagonist. Tchaouna and Noslin are two attackers and had just come on, so they had the energy to shoot.

Marco Baroni Discusses Nuno Tavares Substitution

Baroni also revealed why he decided to field Nuno Tavares in the second half. The Portuguese may have been rushed back to action once more, as he was forced to leave the pitch in tears after suffering his seventh injury of the season.

Nuno came out crying and the stadium cheered him on. He is an important player and he is going through a difficult time. An injury like that would put anyone in difficulty. We discussed his condition before the match, as in my opinion, we needed him. He told me that he felt like coming on and now we will have to evaluate this new relapse. It’s a shame because we also wasted a double substitution. Now we need to recover the player and the team, because they gave everything.