Marco Baroni & Lazio: A Pleasant Surprise | OneFootball

Marco Baroni has been a pleasant surprise. He has taken Lazio to fourth place in Serie A with a promising but unready squad. There are stronger teams, but Lazio is right there, fighting for a UEFA Champions League spot. However, where Baroni hasn’t convinced is in big matches.

Struggling Against ‘Big’ Teams in Serie A?

So far, Lazio has only beaten Napoli among the top teams. Why? Because his ultra-offensive football works well against smaller teams but struggles against stronger opponents.

To date (February 14, 2025), they have suffered two losses to Fiorentina (2-1 in both meetings), an unlucky 1-0 loss vs Juventus, a surprising 6-0 battering at home to Inter, and a disappointing 2-0 loss in the Derby della Capitale vs Roma…

Against big clubs, a team needs to be more cautious, concede less, and be more clinical; when Lazio beat Napoli two times in the same week earlier this season (3-1 in the Coppa Italia Round of 16 and 1-0 in Serie A away at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona), they played more balanced, defending well and taking their chances.

But in all other big matches, Lazio went all-out on the attack and, at best, managed a draw; this occurred vs Milan at the start of the year (2-2) and Atalanta in December (1-1) – both of which occurred at home at the Stadio Olimpico.

Therefore, Baroni’s record vs the other top sides in eight matches thus far is 2 wins, 2 draws, and 5 losses; they have only scored 9 goals but 17 conceded throughout these aforementioned matches.

Final Thoughts on Marco Baroni & Lazio

Baroni has done a great job, but if Lazio wants to secure Champions League football, they need a different approach in big games. The quality is there – the strategy against top teams just needs to improve, as they are consistently winning the matches against the lower-side teams in the league, which has usually been their struggle in recent years.