(Reuters) – Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri said on Tuesday that the World Cup break has made it difficult to predict how Serie A will unfold when teams return to action after a seven-week absence.
Sarri’s squad went into the break in fourth place, 11 points behind leaders Napoli.
“I am in front of something that I had never experienced, only the lockdown was similar,” Sarri told reporters on Tuesday.
Italy postponed matches and closed stadiums soon after the COVID-19 outbreak at the beginning of 2020.
“It’s hard to predict reactions from teams coming back after such a long break and we saw it also in other leagues, Paris St Germain and Tottenham lost, and Chelsea struggled,” Sarri said.
“The hardest thing about these two months is not having any competitions. Friendlies have no serious value.”
The Lazio manager has welcomed back striker Ciro Immobile, who has not played since October due to a hamstring injury, except for a four-minute cameo off the bench against Monza on Nov. 10.
“He was not at the World Cup, so he worked for a long time. He has solved his physical issues and seems in shape,” Sarri said.
Lazio travel to Lecce on Wednesday, with the hosts aiming to claim a third Serie A win in a row for the first time since February 2020.
“Lecce are a good team, we must respect them, they’ve always played well, also against top teams,” Sarri said.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Toby Davis)
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