Lazio are joint-top of the Serie A table after six games thanks to their 3-1 victory over Monza on Sunday afternoon, but head coach Gennaro Gattuso was still not best pleased with what he saw from his players after half-time: “It felt like we were watching the second half against Milan again.”
Lazio maintained their winning start to the 2026-27 Serie A season with a 3-1 victory over Monza thanks to goals from Nuno Tavares, Gustav Isaksen and Andera Pinamonti in an empty Stadio Olimpico.
This leaves them with 16 points from their first six matches of the season, made up of five victories and one draw, the same record as reigning champions Inter.
Gattuso: ‘Felt like watching the second half against Milan again’
Gattuso was pleased with what he saw from his players during the first period against Monza after claiming a 2-0 lead, but accused his players of trying to see the game out from that point.
He claimed that the second half display felt like Lazio’s recent 2-2 draw against Milan, when they had taken a 2-0 first-half lead only to end up drawing 2-2 after a poor second-half display.
“We can’t afford to play like that in the second half. It’s not the first time that this has happened,” Gattuso told DAZN after the 3-1 win over Monza (via TMW).
“It felt like we were watching the second half against Milan again. I congratulated the boys for the first half, but after that, the concepts were wrong.
“We weren’t there on second balls, we were non-existent for the first 25 minutes of the second half.
“Well done to the guys for their first-half performance, but the second half was the same as the one against Milan. We have to go and do the things we know how to do, not try and manage the game.”
He continued: “It’s a matter of mentality and attitude. We were poor on second balls, Romano and Belahyane were always getting crushed. We have to do better at that, otherwise you end up running more if you don’t get there. You start getting into difficulty if you start making meaningless passes.
“We were good in the first half, but of course we’re going to make mistakes if we start trying to manage the game from 2-0 up. We have to improve on that.”
Still, Lazio sit at the top of the standings with an impressive 16 points after six matches.
“We have to take things day by day,” Gattuso insisted. “You know as well as I do what it’s like playing in a stadium like this. It’s not easy, but we’re following our own path and we’ll see where we end up.”