Di Francesco: “The players responded well, but Monaco are ahead of us”

Eusebio Di Francesco spoke to the club’s media channel after the Philipp Plein Cup in which Sampdoria succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Monaco: “I’m very pleased with the way the players applied themselves out there. It’s normal to experience difficulties at this stage of the preparations, but the players responded well despite the circumstances.” The boss was sure not to focus purely on the result when analysing the performance: “We had a few players out of position, especially up front, which was a shame. We made a few too many technical mistakes, but that also depends on physical fitness. Just a fraction of a second can make a difference and Monaco are ahead of us in that regard. We also put some good moves together and it was a shame that our equaliser was ruled out for offside.”

While the team was lacking in some areas, the coach was keen to stress the positives: “I know the final pass wasn’t there at times, but knowing how to dig in is part of the process of improving and it’s important to see that. As for Spezia and Parma, having the games close together means we can give a run-out to those who haven’t featured that much. It means they can get minutes under their belts, which has to be our short-term target.”