Paulo Sousa reassured Federico Bernardeschi after the missed penalty and refused to discuss Europe after a 5-4 win over Inter.

It was a truly bizarre game, as the Viola were 2-1 down, missed a penalty and went 5-2 up until a late Mauro Icardi double made it 5-4.

“It was an entertaining match between two sides who like to play the ball and attack. In the end, I think the lads deserved the victory for their performance,” the Coach told Mediaset Premium.

Paulo Sousa reassured Federico Bernardeschi after the missed penalty and refused to discuss Europe after a 5-4 win over Inter.

It was a truly bizarre game, as the Viola were 2-1 down, missed a penalty and went 5-2 up until a late Mauro Icardi double made it 5-4.

“It was an entertaining match between two sides who like to play the ball and attack. In the end, I think the lads deserved the victory for their performance,” the Coach told Mediaset Premium.

Bernardeschi saw his poor dinked penalty saved by Samir Handanovic and was substituted, jeered off the pitch by fans.

“I replaced him because I wanted fresh legs and someone who could give us some of the characteristics that he could not at that moment of the game.

“Bernardeschi is mature, he is an important player in Serie A and has a long way to go so he can become an even better player than he has been so far.

“Unfortunately, I have a bit of a temperature today, so I was unable to celebrate and shout as much as usual on the touchline.”

Does this victory put Fiorentina back in the hunt for a European spot next season?

“We are working first of all with the idea of improving game by game, as that has always been the plan and will continue to be the plan.

“In our attacking organisation, we try to work on the dynamics and the principles of our football to create problems for our opponents. We want to finalise all the chances we create, and we converted quite a few of our opportunities tonight.

“We always try to win every game. Sometimes we manage it, sometimes we don’t. We do not look at the other results.”

When Josip Ilicic came on for Bernardeschi, things seemed to change for Fiorentina.

“Some players have a different intensity to others. We are not a counter-attacking team, we generally want to control the ball and keep possession, which can create some risks, but that is our idea of football.”

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