Gennaro Gattuso described Lazio's Coppa Italia defeat to second-tier Mantova as "a punch to the face", as his time in charge of the Biancocelesti got off to a miserable start.

Lazio were Coppa Italia runners-up under Maurizio Sarri last season, losing 2-0 to Scudetto winners Inter in the final in May.

But they fell at the first hurdle in 2026-27, with Gattuso's first competitive game at the helm resulting in a dismal 2-0 defeat to a team that finished ninth in Serie B last term.

Lazio have a proud record in Italy's domestic cup, reaching the quarter-finals – as a minimum – in 15 consecutive seasons prior to Sunday's defeat.

During that time, Lazio won the trophy twice and were beaten finalists on three occasions.

It is the first time since 1985-86 that Lazio have gone out of the Coppa Italia at the first hurdle, having failed to make it beyond the group stage on that occasion, when they were a second-tier club themselves.

The last time the Biancocelesti lost a knockout tie in the first round of the competition was way back in 1962-63, when they went down 3-0 to Fiorentina.

And Gattuso was in no mood to defend his team's performance following a furious reaction from their supporters at the Stadio Olimpico. 

"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."

Less than 6,000 fans attended Sunday's game at the 70,000-seater Olimpico, with almost half that number being travelling Mantova supporters. 

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

But more reinforcements are needed, particularly after centre-back Mario Gila and goalkeeper Ivan Provedel left to join Inter and AC Milan, respectively.

When asked about Lazio's plans in the transfer market, 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 opening Serie A match of the season is away at Bologna on August 24, with a home game against Genoa to come the following week.