Pioli elated with Lazio display against Samp

First half goals from Marco Parolo and Felipe Anderson were followed by a 66th-minute tap-in from Filip Djordjevic, which sealed all three points at the Stadio Olimpico. 

Lazio dominated the game from start to finish and Pioli was not afraid to talk up his side's performance, although he did insist they have room for improvement.

"[It is] one of the best Lazio performances to date, for sure," Pioli said after the match.

"Yet, I think we have a lot to improve, especially in our players' skills, although tonight some individual performances were outstanding.

"Then we can improve in the approach, in consistency throughout 90 minutes, although today we played at high levels in terms of focus and quality. I can't help but congratulate my players."

The win moves Lazio up to third on the Serie A table, nine points behind leaders Juventus, and Pioli believes his team deserve their current position in the league.

"No, it's not a dream [third place]. I think we deserve this place in the league table thanks to what we have achieved so far," he said.

"We still have some flaws but now we have to push harder. We have got here through hard work and the players' ability to sacrifice but it's obvious we want to stay here. We'll try until the end to keep the attitude that brought us here.

"We know that the competition will be ferocious but we'll do everything we can to defend this position."