Tribal Football

Empoli coach D'Aversa delighted with victory over "direct rival" Como

Carlos Volcano
Empoli coach D'Aversa delighted with victory over "direct rival" Como
Empoli coach D'Aversa delighted with victory over "direct rival" ComoTribalfootball
Empoli coach Roberto D'Aversa admits victory over Como on Monday night was a real six-pointer.

Pietro Pellegri struck for the 1-0 win, with D'Aversa making clear how important the result was.

Advertisement
Advertisement

 

This was a game with a big weight:

"As I said yesterday it would have been an important game against a direct competitor. We cared about our fans, now it's right to celebrate. The performance, especially in the second half, must teach us that we must improve and concretize more."

 

You can count on Pellegri:

"He is a complete player, we have to be good and lucky without the problems he went through coming out. He had a great performance, it is important to count on more players with games so close together."

 

What was the change in the interval?

"This team has always shown that they give away little, in the interval I only asked them for courage. In the first half we made some wrong choices, in the second half they came in more convinced."

 

Were you good at managing a dirty game?

"It always depends on what is expected of us. In an emergency situation it is true that I do not create alibis, because I believe that we really have to find solutions. The game was dirty at times, they looked for long throws and it was not easy to stay compact. Technically we could have done better, we have to think about who we are and our path."

 

Today, were you satisfied with those you put on the field?

"I should name many names, when these guys go on the field as a team they always give their all. This victory is important for the standings, for the fans, but above all for the guys. We must not sit back, nothing has been done, the road is very long."

 

Is this the victory of calm in winning a complicated match?

"They came from a heavy defeat at home which was more penalizing, they used a defender as a midfielder. They respected my boys. It wasn't easy, we shouldn't have rushed to score immediately. Because that way you make mistakes from a technical point of view."

 

You beat a team of great value:

"We can compete with anyone. We are a club that tries to invest in its youth sector, with the goal of survival. They are different policies, Como has already invested a lot. I am very happy to represent this reality and I would not change any of my players with those of Como."

 

Does Empoli have much room for improvement?

"It was unimaginable to think about it at this point, but tonight the boys showed that they have a lot of room for improvement. Sometimes one episode is enough to change the games, the boys showed maturity."