Zarate thanks Reja for Lazio lift

Argentine winger Mauro Zarate said listening to manager Edoardo Reja has led to his improved performances for Serie A club Lazio.

Speaking after their 3-1 win over Rafael Benitez’s Inter Milan, Zarate credited his form to Reja’s inspirational tactics.

“I am always the same player and I am doing everything the coach tells me to,” Zarate said.

“I can play wide or as a centre-forward. The coach asks me to move around in attack, then if I have to track back to work as a full-back, I’ll do it.”

The Romans went level on points with AC Milan at the top of the Serie A table, but Zarate said their potential this domestic campaign was an unknown.

“We don’t know where we can go yet this season. We did very well against Inter and with the third goal are even happier,” he said.

“I am happy that I managed to score against Inter for the first time, as I wanted it very much after netting against the other big clubs.”

“We’re not thinking about the Scudetto, as we just want to finish as high up the table as possible.”

Zarate credits the improvement of last season’s 12th placed side in the Serie A to their first full campaign under Reja.

“Reja arrived mid-season, so you can see the difference now that we were able to work with him over the summer. We know each other better and prove it with our performances.”