Eusebio Di Francesco explains his picks after the Coppa Italia defeat to Atalanta. ‘We were too timorous in the first half.’
The Sardinians were kept afloat by the heroics of 24-year-old goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who was making his debut for the club, until a final 3-1 capitulation.
Eusebio Di Francesco explains his picks after the Coppa Italia defeat to Atalanta. ‘We were too timorous in the first half.’
The Sardinians were kept afloat by the heroics of 24-year-old goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who was making his debut for the club, until a final 3-1 capitulation.
“We were too timorous in the first half and Atalanta are a truly excellent team. We also fielded a lot of young players due to various reasons and our confidence grew as the game went on,” said the coach in his press conference.
“I didn’t want to risk Radja Nainggolan and Diego Godin when they’ve been out for such a long time and can’t play three games in eight days.
“I liked the team spirit and they tried to give their best. If you look at the average age of the starting XI this evening, it was a very young side, but I had no other option.”
Cagliari are out of the Coppa Italia at the Round of 16, but must face Serie A leaders Milan on Monday.
“There isn’t much time to prepare and I hope the results can come soon. This reminds me a little bit of my first year at Sassuolo, because that team took a while to gel too, but we built some important foundations there.”