Marco Baroni Criticizes Alessio Romagnoli’s Performance in Defeat

Marco Baroni publicly criticized defender Alessio Romagnoli for what he termed a ‘naïve’ mistake during a recent match and emphasized the need for his team to be more ruthless in their attack.

The Aquile had experienced a similar situation in their opening fixture against Venezia, managing to recover after conceding an early goal to secure a 3-1 victory. However, during the match at the Bluenergy Stadium, they struggled significantly, resulting in a loss after Lorenzo Lucca scored a header followed by a solo effort from Florian Thauvin.

Baroni expressed his disappointment, stating, ‘We conceded two bad goals, which is a recurring issue, as it occurred in our game against Venezia. Although Udinese is a very physical team, we must improve our performance and be more concrete in both defending and attacking phases.’

Despite their efforts, the statistics reflected a troubling reality; the Aquile entered the opponent’s box 48 times, compared to Udinese’s mere 13, making comeback attempts difficult when facing a team that played defensively. Baroni remarked, ‘We need to improve and move the ball around quicker.’

There was also controversy surrounding the opening goal, as an offside flag was raised when Lucca headed the ball in, but the referee allowed play to continue, and VAR confirmed the linesman’s error.

Baroni was particularly critical of Romagnoli’s actions during the play. He noted, ‘We must not stop. Romagnoli was in the right position and lifted his arm in protest. However, one must always play to the whistle. Such naïve mistakes are unacceptable, especially against teams that sit deep.’

Gustav Isaksen scored a late goal for Lazio, serving as a consolation for the team, despite Udinese being reduced to ten men after Hassane Kamara received a second yellow card.

‘We spread the ball down the wings effectively today, but we need to provide better crosses,’ Baroni stated. He added that Boulaye Dia possesses capabilities for more dynamic movements between the lines, and that Dele-Bashiru needs improvement. ‘The team is fully aware of these areas that need work,’ he concluded.

Baroni further mentioned, ‘To become less predictable, the team must increase the speed of ball movement. We had several opportunities to switch the play to the other flank but failed to do so.’