Lazio winger Pedro was full of praise for Celtic at a press conference today ahead of tomorrow night’s Champions League Group E fixture.
Pedro netted the winner for Lazio against Celtic in a 2-1 win at Celtic Park in the reverse fixture, coming on as a substitute for only the last six minutes, he managed to score in the dying moments of the game, in added time.
Despite securing victory in the last meeting between the sides, Lazio do not go into the game in great form, having suffered a 2-1 loss to Salernitana on Saturday. Salernitana currently sit bottom in Serie A. Interestingly, Lazio finds themselves positioned 11th in the league table, despite finishing second last season.
It’s evident that Maurizio Sarri’s side is vulnerable, as highlighted by their recent loss to Salernitana. This presents an opportunity for Celtic to exploit, despite their own 1-1 draw with Motherwell at the weekend. With questions over Sarri’s future at Lazio, this could prove to be the perfect opportunity to secure a memorable away European result.
Pedro said: [Daily Record], “They are a good team with a number of important players like Kyogo and Joe Hart.
“Those are players I really respect and who make Celtic a very difficult team to beat at both ends of the pitch. (Callum) McGregor uses the ball so well and is highly technical. This will not be straightforward for us.
“It was a very hard-fought win at Celtic Park and we’re expecting exactly the same. Celtic are physically a very strong team, they are very strong technically too and they move the ball about well. As with every game in the Champions League, this will be another Final for us.
“Over the course of my career, whenever I have come up against Scottish clubs or players, they have always presented a real physical challenge and I’m not expecting this to be any different. It will be intense, physical and we need to stand up to the test.”
Pedro is cautious of Celtic, and rightfully so. The Hoops were arguably the better side in the previous meeting and may have felt aggrieved not to secure a draw at the very least, having taken the lead through Kyogo Furuhashi 12 minutes into the game and conceded with virtually the last kick of the game to lose 2-1.
Celtic go into tomorrow night’s game the underdogs with no expectations of a result and this is something that Brendan Rodgers can use to his advantage, with Lazio not in a good place domestically. Celtic could certainly look to pull off an unlikely victory which may have seemed impossible only a few weeks ago.
Brendan Rodgers will have to navigate a victory without Luis Palma though, who misses out due to suspension after accumulating too many yellow cards throughout the group stage
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