The Italian frontman took aim at his critics after scoring against his former club on Europe’s biggest stage
Ciro Immobile aimed a dig at Borussia Dortmund after inspiring Lazio‘s win against the German giants in the Champions League.
Lazio stormed to the top of Group F by beating Dortmund 3-1 at Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday night.
Immobile opened the scoring with an expert finish six minutes in, before a Marwin Hitz own goal put the home side in full command 17 minutes later.
Simone Inzaghi’s side held onto their two-goal advantage until deep into the second half, with Erling Haaland hammering home his 11th goal in nine Champions League appearances to halve the deficit.
However, Lazio made sure of the three points moment later after Immobile teed up Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro to score from close range, capping a superb all-round performance.
Immobile has become one of the most prolific strikers on the planet since joining Lazio from Sevilla in 2016, scoring 127 goals in 182 outings for the club.
36 of those efforts were plundered in Serie A last season, which earned him the European Golden Boot, but he wasn’t able to reach the same heights during a spell at Dortmund earlier in his career.
The 30-year-old only managed to find the net on three occasions for BVB in the Bundesliga in 2014-15 after being snapped up from Torino, and was subsequently sold to Sevilla for €11 million (£10m/$13m).
Immobile was considered one of the biggest flops in Dortmund’s recent history, but he took the opportunity to hit back at his critics after masterminding their downfall in a Lazio shirt.
“Did they say I was Dortmund’s worst signing? Sometimes you have to wait for the players, understand the situations. I arrived at Dortmund at the wrong time, during a generational change,” he told Sky Sports post-match.
“There were some difficulties, but I don’t want to say anything about it. I am very attentive to everything, I know that when there is praise to be taken I do it and I do the same thing with criticism.”
Asked how far he thinks Lazio can go in this season’s Champions League, Immobile added: “The next step is to continue like this, continuity made us take the extra step last year.
“When we lost a goal we went back to a normal team. If we go out on the pitch with this desire [we can qualify for the knockout stage]. The group is balanced, there are five more battles and we must give our all.”
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