Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Italiano was delighted with their 2-1 win against Europa Conference League opponents Genk.

Lucas Martinez-Quarta and Nico Gonzalez from the spot scored the goals for the Viola as they reach the knockout round.

Italiano said, “It was a great second half performance, because at the break we pointed out that we were too sluggish in the challenges and allowed several counter-attacks, which allowed Genk to score with our errors.

“We stepped up the tempo, the second goal was a penalty that we earned with at last a good team passing move in the build-up with a lot of quality.

“I tell the players that nobody is forgotten, you either make an impact from the start or off the bench. A great example was for Lazio against Celtic, when Ciro Immobile – the captain – came on as a substitute, scored and decided the victory.

“Today we saw players come on with the right attitude and I am happy, as it was an excellent second half performance.

“Above all, we have to work on our defending for the goal that we conceded today, because it's not the first time it happened. The high press gains us many advantages, but there are also risks involved. The other thing is to get our strikers scoring, because converting chances into goals is how you get a game on track."