Lazio midfielder Marco Parolo has conceded that the real damage to his side’s chances of making it to the last 32 of the Europa League was inflicted by Celtic.
The Serie A giants kept their hopes of making it to the next round of the competition alive with a 1-0 win over CFR Cluj at home on Thursday night.
They are still third in the standings and will need to beat Rennes away from home on the final matchday and hope Celtic get a win at Cluj to help them sneak through.
Parolo insisted that the last two games will have little bearing if they miss out on the last 32 of the Europa League and feels the two defeats to Celtic were the real cause of the damage.
He believes Lazio played well in both those games in an effort to get more positive results, but paid a heavy price for committing silly errors during crucial points against Celtic, both home and away.
Parolo told Lazio Style Channel: “If we miss out on qualification it will not be because of the last two games, but because of the games against Celtic.
“Getting zero points against Celtic hurts more, I think that was the problem.
“Against Cluj, we were not in the right condition, it was the first game.
“Against Celtic on the other hand, we played two great games, but made a lot of mistakes.
“And in Europe, no mistake goes unpunished.”
Celtic secured top spot in their Europa League group with a 3-1 win over Rennes at Parkhead on Thursday night.
