Gattuso takes responsibility after historic Lazio cup collapse

Lazio have crashed out of the Coppa Italia at the first hurdle for the first time since the competition adopted a straight knockout format in 1962-63, falling 2-0 to second-tier Mantova in Gennaro Gattuso’s first competitive game in charge.

The defeat marks a stark contrast to last season when Lazio were Coppa Italia runners-up under Maurizio Sarri, losing 2-0 to Scudetto winners Inter in the final in May. The Biancocelesti had reached the quarter-finals or better in 15 consecutive seasons before Sunday’s loss, having won the trophy twice and finished as beaten finalists on three occasions during that run.

It is the first time since 1985-86 that Lazio have gone out of the Coppa Italia at the first hurdle, and the first knockout first-round loss since 1962-63 when they were beaten 3-0 by Fiorentina.

‘We took a beating’

Gattuso was blunt in his assessment after a furious reaction from the home support at the 70,000-seater Stadio Olimpico, where fewer than 6,000 fans attended with almost half of them travelling Mantova supporters.

"We took a beating, and I’m putting my face on it," Gattuso told Sportmediaset. "Now, we must put our heads down and get on with it. There’s still a lot of work to do, and we have to move forward."

"We apologise. Just a few months ago, Lazio were in the final, and today we’ve been eliminated by a Serie B team. Believe me, the players are working well, but in 40 days it’s difficult to absorb all the ideas. Tonight we took a punch in the face, and we felt it. We know the fans aren’t happy; we hope to turn things around."

Squad overhaul underway

Having finished ninth in Serie A last season and missed out on European qualification, Lazio have brought in Boulaye Dia, Davide Frattesi, Danilho Doekhi and Alfonso Pedraza, the latter two on free transfers.

The club has also lost centre-back Mario Gila to Inter and goalkeeper Ivan Provedel to AC Milan, leaving Gattuso to acknowledge further reinforcements are needed.

When asked about transfer plans, Gattuso responded: "I don’t want to talk about it, because it would be too easy to focus on what this team is missing."

Lazio’s 2026-27 Serie A campaign begins away at Bologna on August 24, followed by a home game against Genoa the following week.