Eusebio Di Francesco said the key to Sassuolo’s success is “focusing on the collective” after the historic 3-0 Europa League win over Athletic.

The Neroverdi are in their first ever continental campaign and ran riot in the second half with Pol Lirola, Gregoire Defrel and Matteo Politano.

“We focus on the collective, not the individual,” the Coach told Sky Sport Italia.

Eusebio Di Francesco said the key to Sassuolo’s success is “focusing on the collective” after the historic 3-0 Europa League win over Athletic.

The Neroverdi are in their first ever continental campaign and ran riot in the second half with Pol Lirola, Gregoire Defrel and Matteo Politano.

“We focus on the collective, not the individual,” the Coach told Sky Sport Italia.

“If someone here feels confident their place is secure, I wanted to prove today that the game has to be prepared in the right way by everyone.

“The lads prepared the way I wanted and I liked their tenacity. There are games in which you cannot think of dominating for 90 minutes, especially against a side like Athletic.

“We were coming off a heavy defeat at Juventus, but we played a great second half this evening.”

What did Di Francesco say at half-time to transform the performance?

“There was a lot of tension and nerves at the start due to the emotion of the occasion. For example, Lirola has great attacking potential, but he needs to improve when defending. I told him to accompany the move more.

“We weren’t clean enough with our passing, but we improved afterwards. Defrel did really well helping out the defence and was rewarded with a goal. He plays for his teammates, as everyone should.”

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