Having endured a horrific run of form in November, Mike Lazar calls for a dramatic change in fortunes for the Biancocelesti ahead of the Christmas break.
December brings a fresh slate of possibilities to wipe clear all of the disappointments of Lazio‘s league play this past November.
The Aquile have endured a winless run for their last five matches in Italy, but to the contrary have remained undefeated in their glittering Europa League campaign after dispatching Dnipro with a confident 3-1 win at the Stadio Olimpico last Thursday to secure qualification to the knockout stage.
Regardless of their midweek magic across Europe, the club simply must find their mojo in Italy once again. The 1-0 loss against Empoli ended what was truly a merciless month according to the words of Stefano Pioli after the match. Two disallowed goals and a series of missed opportunities on Sunday had left the club in it’s seemingly endless “sad but true” state of mind, with only the impending match in the next round granting any chance of salvation.
The challenge is evident, with next opponents Juventus preparing to make further victims of the Aquilotti as they seem to have managed success in their own quest for a resurgence in Serie A form.
While the Bianconeri also tasted defeat like Lazio on October 28, they then went on to experience a polar opposite series of results in November with four straight victories lifting them from 12th to 5th in the league table.
Lazio have fallen from 6th to 10th place since the end of October, and the loss to Empoli could be the strangest yet since the Azzurri had managed to beat the sides that the Biancocelesti struggled with thus far such as Sassuolo and Palermo.
With a look at the current standings, last year seemed to hold a much more positive outlook of future prospects for the capital club, and for a number of comparitive reasons. Upon finishing their 14th round in the first week of December 2014, the Biancocelesti sat in fifth place on 23 points, with seven wins, two draws, and five losses.
This year the side is looking far less bullet-proof in tenth place on 19 points, with six wins, one draw, and seven losses.
Most concerning is the fact that Stefano Pioli’s side had succumbed to defeat just 11 times before finishing in third place last season, which shows just how precious each week’s results becomes this time around.
More losses will inevitably lower the expectations of the entire campaign, and a continued decline in victories will only highlight the lack of confidence that the team has been searching for.
As mentioned in last week’s club focus, the team is looking highly vulnerable for a massive shake up as the January transfer rumours continue to swarm around the club, making this final push before the break a definitive time as the outlook for the season looks increasingly dire with every loss.
Again, the less said about November the better, but December could very well end up with a blue Christmas if the matches ahead against Juventus, Sampdoria and Inter end up as further missed opportunities.
