Falcao wary of 'dangerous' Lazio

Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao has called for his side to be cautious in their Europa League tie against Lazio despite holding a comfortable 3-1 first leg lead.

The Spanish capital club have one foot in the next stage of the competition after picking a 3-1 victory at the Stadio Olimpico last week.

The two-goal lead, with three away goals added to it, may seem insurmountable but the two-goal hero from the first leg is still adamant that Lazio are far from being out of the competition yet.

Falcao, who won last year's Europa League with Porto, told Uefa's official website: "We have only played 90 minutes and the tie is not yet closed. Lazio are a very dangerous side and we cannot go out thinking they will not be a threat.

"We must show the same attitude from the first leg and show our best game in Madrid."

Atletico midfielder Diego hailed the importance of Falcao to the side and also emphasised that his side cannot rest on their laurels.

Falcao, who joined Atletico in the summer in a €40 million deal, has scored 19 goals to date for the Vicente Calderon outfit, including five in the Europa League.

"Falcao is a very important player for us and when you have a striker like that you have to learn how to get the best out of him," he said, "We are doing that now. The team is improving and, consequently, so is he."

Diego concluded: "However, we know that the tie is still wide open. The return will be as hard as the first leg. We will be expecting a tough test from Lazio because they are a good side - we will have to be on our guard."

Atletico Madrid will host Lazio on Friday evening for the second leg of the knockout round, where the winner will face either Braga or Besiktas.