Maurizio Sarri believes Lazio "could have taken the win home" in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final against Atalanta had their fans been in the stadium.
Atalanta and Lazio played out a 2-2 draw at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday, with almost the entirety of the Lazio fans continuing their ongoing protest against the club's president Claudio Lotito.
It marked a surreal atmosphere at the Olimpico as only an estimated 5,000 tickets were sold, though the home faithful were still audible as they stood outside the arena.
Sarri's side twice took the lead, first through Fisayo Dele-Bashiru in the 46th minute and then through Boulaye Dia in the 86th but allowed Atalanta to level the scores both times through Mario Pasalic and Yunus Musah.
And the Lazio boss believes that the match could have ended differently had his side had the support of their fans inside the stadium.
"Unfortunately, and I mean unfortunately, the team is getting used to this situation inside the stadium," Sarri said.
"It's horrible to say, because this is a truly sad situation. Once again tonight we felt that if there were 45,000 in the stands, we could've maybe taken the win home.
"But we are satisfied with the performance, because we played at a high level against a strong team during what has been a difficult period.
"On the other hand, we have regrets over the results, although we know it would've been a battle in Bergamo even going there with a one-goal advantage.
"We will go and fight for qualification there. If we play the way we did this evening, then we can do it."
The second leg of the tie will take place at New Balance Arena in Bergamo on April 21, with the winner facing one of Inter or Como in the final in May.
Atalanta boss Raffaele Palladino believes his side will take plenty of confidence following their equalisers.
"I think we had a very good game against a strong opponent," Palladino said.
"It was balanced, entertaining to watch, and when you face Sarri’s teams it is always enjoyable, as they have quality and can cause problems at any moment.
"It was only the first half of this semi-final, the second will be on our turf. And the tie is open, it's 50-50 and we want to reach the Final.
"We're in front of our own fans, but that is a while away, so we'll gain confidence from this performance."