The Viola coach on the eve of the Conference match: “Maximum concentration to make up for the defeat at San Siro against Milan. The attack performs better in Europe”
“We have to give everything we have because it’s a decisive match and the stakes are very high.” Vincenzo Italiano presents tomorrow evening’s match against Genk and above all asks for concreteness: “We will need to be mean and ferocious in a match which, with a success, will give us the passage to the next round. Therefore maximum concentration also to make up for the defeat in the championship at San Siro who left us so much bitterness.”
jammed men
—
The Viola’s real problem in Serie A is the difficulty in scoring: “In the Conference we have a different consistency with 2 goals on average per game – adds the coach -, while in the championship the situation is different. And this does not allow us to have a satisfactory and extraordinary ranking, as it was until recently. We got stuck. You win by throwing the ball into the net and previously several players did it in turn, including defenders and midfielders, but now they don’t even score anymore, in addition to strikers. We must not lose faith, we need more verticality with greater conviction from everyone, starting with Nzola and Beltran who cannot be happy with what they are doing, but they will unblock themselves. Against Genk we will have to be good in both phases because they know how to play football.” Kayode is fine, the pain in his ankle is gone and he will return to the pitch as a right back after more than a month. The other certainty is in goal where Christensen will be, for the rest doubts remain, even if three defaults are certain: Bonaventura, Comuzzo (muscle discomfort) and Mandragora (fever). So room for Barak in the attacking midfield and Duncan alongside Lopez.
purple to the max
—
The Frenchman will be the protagonist in midfield, after the good performance in the second half against Milan. He himself explains that he has found a new dimension: “After the first months in which I needed to understand the game, I am now well and even the goal against Cukaricki was important for me. De Zerbi, Dionisi and Italiano? The coaches who I have had are different from each other, but all very good, so Italy has a good future for the benches. Competition with Arthur? It’s part of football.” Finally, Maxime also repeats the usual catchphrase: “In the championship we need to score more, even if defeats sometimes come from small details.”