Coach Paulo Fonseca seemed pleased with his team's reaction, as they bounced back from defeat in Naples with a comfortable win over Young Boys on Thursday night.
The Giallorossi ran out 3-1 winners at the Stadio Olimpico to clinch top spot in Group A - as Borja Mayoral, Riccardo Calafiori and Edin Dzeko all got on the scoresheet.
Here's what the boss had to say in the aftermath about the game...
Was this the reaction you wanted after the Napoli game?
“I wouldn’t say it was a reaction, more a resumption after a game where we didn’t do as well. It was important to get back to winning ways and to performing well. And we did that – it was a great performance and we won to clinch top spot in the group.”
What impresses you most about Riccardo Calafiori?
“I really liked his performance, as I did with all the players. Calafiori is doing well, he’s improving and he’s more ready to be involved. And for me as a coach it’s important to see that, both with Calafiori and with the other players.
"Today we changed a few things, so for a coach it’s always important to see that everyone wants to play.”
Borja Mayoral is improving in this competition. Did you expect that?
“Of course. He’s improving game-by-game. Today he played really well and worked hard for the team. With each day he’s progressing.”
What’s the latest with the injuries?
“We hope to have Jordan Veretout back [for the weekend]. As far as Chris Smalling goes I’m more pessimistic: he’s still training on his own, so it will be difficult. Gianluca Mancini will miss the game too. Let’s see what happens with Veretout, but he doesn’t have a muscle strain.”
After the Napoli game you talked about lacking courage – what did you mean by that?
“I was talking about the attacking element. It’s true that we had some defensive issues, but the players didn’t really try to play their way and that can’t be allowed to happen.
"In every moment, the team has to have the courage to use the ball and make the most of it – that’s normal for us, but against Napoli it didn’t happen.”
Was it an issue with the side's personality?
“No, it was just a bad day.”
Today it was important that all those involved took responsibility...
“Yes, and the key thing was that all the players wanted to be on the ball and use the ball. It’s important to show they have that confidence. And today they did well in that regard.”
(Photo Getty Images)
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Source: legaseriea.it