Beppe Iachini was celebrating the second consecutive Fiorentina victory, knocking Atalanta out of the Coppa Italia. “We worked on this mentality.”
The Viola had already ended their Serie A drought by beating SPAL 1-0 at the weekend and followed it up with a 2-1 result in the Coppa this afternoon, despite German Pezzella’s red card.
Beppe Iachini was celebrating the second consecutive Fiorentina victory, knocking Atalanta out of the Coppa Italia. “We worked on this mentality.”
The Viola had already ended their Serie A drought by beating SPAL 1-0 at the weekend and followed it up with a 2-1 result in the Coppa this afternoon, despite German Pezzella’s red card.
“I expected the team to play like this, as Atalanta create many chances no matter who they are up against, but we did well to score our second goal,” said the coach in his press conference.
“This is the mentality I want and that we’ve been working on. We were running low on energy towards the end and Atalanta pressed us hard, but whether we’re down to 10 or nine, we have to always go for the victory, and we had other chances too.
“There were four or five lads with cramp at the end, as they gave their all, and that is what we must build on for the future. What I want to see is our first half performance extended for an entire 95 minutes.
“As for Pezzella, I thought the second yellow card for simulation was harsh, as he did gesture ‘no’ with his finger after going down. Mattia Caldara could easily have received a second yellow too, and I like equality in these situations.”
Fiorentina will face Inter in the Coppa Italia Quarter-Final at San Siro on January 29.
“We eliminated a top team like Atalanta, and that is reason to feel pleased with ourselves. Next we’ll face one of the best sides in Italy.”