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Lazio's Edy Reja assures drastic changes are not needed after Juventus defeat
The coach believes his side were better than the Serie A leaders in the opening exchanges and says the strike partnership of Tommaso Rocchi and Miroslav Klose is working well
27 Nov 2011 08:36:00
By Trevor Allen
Lazio coach Edy Reja says his side are still on course to finish inside the Champions League places in Serie A despite losing 1-0 to Juventus in their top-of-the-table clash at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.
Lazio looked to be in control of the match through the opening half hour, but a quick counter-attack from the visitors led to the eventual winning goal in the 34th minute by Simone Pepe.
After the defeat, Reja assured that there would be no knee-jerk reaction to the loss, which could see his side drop to fourth place by the end of the round 13 fixtures.
"We will not make drastic changes as a result of this defeat," Reja told reports after the match.
"The team played openly and to their level, but there have been moments that were not particularly lucky for us.
"In the first 20 minutes we created lots of chances, and just when we were doing well, their counter-attack led to a goal.
"Rocchi finds spaces and is the most suitable from the tactical point of view and is an excellent partner to Klose," he said.
Reja said he was happy with the team's performances in the league thus far, but called on his players to improve.
"To continue to be so high in the standings, we need to improve some aspects," he said. "There is the belief that they do not deserve this defeat, but we must react immediately and start working hard on Monday for our Europe League match [against FC Vaslui].
Lazio looked to be in control of the match through the opening half hour, but a quick counter-attack from the visitors led to the eventual winning goal in the 34th minute by Simone Pepe.
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After the defeat, Reja assured that there would be no knee-jerk reaction to the loss, which could see his side drop to fourth place by the end of the round 13 fixtures.
"We will not make drastic changes as a result of this defeat," Reja told reports after the match.
"The team played openly and to their level, but there have been moments that were not particularly lucky for us.
"In the first 20 minutes we created lots of chances, and just when we were doing well, their counter-attack led to a goal.
"But we did not give up after the goal and even the second half we did well, but unfortunately there has been little composure in front of goal.
"There's room to improve further and work hard, but I liked the performance of the boys, even at the individual level, we have proven to be a good team," Reja added.
Reja was also impressed with the developing partnership between strikers Miroslav Klose and captain Tommaso Rocchi."Rocchi finds spaces and is the most suitable from the tactical point of view and is an excellent partner to Klose," he said.
Reja said he was happy with the team's performances in the league thus far, but called on his players to improve.
"To continue to be so high in the standings, we need to improve some aspects," he said. "There is the belief that they do not deserve this defeat, but we must react immediately and start working hard on Monday for our Europe League match [against FC Vaslui].
"Our goal is to go beyond our position of last season. Our injured players will recover and third place is within our reach."
Lazio are provisionally in third place in the league, three points behind Juventus. They welcome Novara to the Stadio Olimpico next week.| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
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| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
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| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
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| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
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