Sarri: Lazio must learn from Coppa Italia opponents Atalanta

Maurizio Sarri has urged Lazio to learn from Atalanta ahead of their Coppa Italia semi-final first leg on Wednesday.

The two sides will go head-to-head at Stadio Olimpico, with Inter and Como facing off in the other semi-final, as Lazio look to lift the trophy for the first time since 2019.

They reached the last four after defeating holders Bologna on penalties; Lazio have progressed (or won the competition) on six of the last seven occasions in which they have faced penalties in the Coppa Italia.

However, Lazio are 11th in Serie A this season, 11 points behind seventh-place Atalanta, with Sarri previously calling 2025-26 “year zero” as he anticipated a tough challenge at the club this season.

Although Sarri admitted Coppa Italia success is not Lazio’s main goal, he believes it will be a good opportunity to learn from Atalanta.

“It’s not massively important in terms of our future. Next year will have to be ‘year one’ and not ‘year zero’,” said Sarri.

“We will have to play a very difficult game against a strong Champions League team. We have to have pride; we’ve reached the semi-finals by eliminating last year’s finalists.

“Atalanta has been on a long journey that began 10 years ago, which has led to them conquering Europe and making different levels of investment compared to 10 years ago.

“Now they can afford players of a certain level, and the gap increases. Lazio have to take this path and make investments to return to Europe, with consistency, and have a better economic picture.”

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Atalanta pulled off a brilliant comeback to knock Borussia Dortmund out of the Champions League, but followed that up with a 2-1 defeat to 10-man Sassuolo in Serie A last weekend.

La Dea head coach Raffaele Palladino was not willing to use their Champions League match as an excuse for that loss, with his attention immediately turning to their Coppa Italia tie.

“I analysed the team, and if I had seen them start badly, I might’ve considered us being distracted by midweek, but I didn’t see that,” said Palladino.

“It’s disappointing, but these things can happen; we must put it behind us and focus immediately on the Coppa Italia.”