Lazio goalkeeper Ivan Provedel believes that the Biancocelesti did well to qualify from their Champions League group containing Atletico Madrid, Feyenoord and Celtic, but insists that his teammates can’t afford to be intimidated by Bayern Munich in the Round of 16.
Lazio finished the group in second place with 10 points from six matches, beating Celtic twice, Feyenoord once and one draw with Atletico. The two losses were both away matches against Atleti and Feyenoord.
“Ours was a tough group. It may have seemed easy from the outside, but Atletico, Feyenoord and Celtic are all top-level teams,” Provedel told UEFA, reported via TMW.
“Getting through the group was an excellent achievement given the quality of our opponents and the fact that it was the first time playing in the competition for lots of our players.”
As was the case in the 2021 edition of the Champions League, Lazio will face Bayern Munich over two legs of the Round of 16, beginning at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday at 20.00 GMT.
Lazio will be hoping to improve on their fortunes compared to two years ago, when they lost by a 6-2 aggregate score.
Bayern, however, will be more accustomed to knock-out football in Europe’s premier competition, Provedel says.
“Bayern are a team that are used to the knock-out rounds, but we cannot afford to be intimidated.We will be ready to do our best and push for a place in the next round.
“Reaching the Round of 16 has reminded us what we are capable of achieving. Now we know that if we work in a certain way, we can get certain results, and that only helps our self-esteem.”
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