Giampaolo: “Back on track, morale boosted, plenty of positives”

A derby win makes up for weeks of disappointing results. Marco Giampaolo knew that and wasn’t afraid to talk up the significance of the fixture prior to the game.

Now, of course, he and Sampdoria can reap the benefits.

“It’s a great feeling to win the derby. Our fans have never abandoned us, not even in the really difficult times. I’m pleased for the lads and for all our fans.

“This win gets us back on track and boosts morale. We’ll push on from here taking each game as it comes. Now we can go into our next match – even such a daunting one as Juventus – with a weight off our shoulders.”

Giampaol0’s playing system had come in for criticism from some quarters yet it worked to a tee on the night.

“We played our usual way again today. It was only when [Filip] Djuricic came on that we changed things around a bit.

“The team didn’t hold back – right from the start they put into practice everything we worked on during the week. We approached the game with the right mentality and all the lads did well.”

Hear more of Giampaolo’s derby analysis in the video below.