Roberto De Zerbi admits the 3-2 win over Verona could’ve gone either way at 2-2, but he feels Sassuolo ‘deserved’ all three points.
It was a very entertaining match at the Mapei Stadium, but hard fought, as the Neroverdi were twice pegged back to a draw before Junior Hamed Traore’s decisive goal.
Roberto De Zerbi admits the 3-2 win over Verona could’ve gone either way at 2-2, but he feels Sassuolo ‘deserved’ all three points.
It was a very entertaining match at the Mapei Stadium, but hard fought, as the Neroverdi were twice pegged back to a draw before Junior Hamed Traore’s decisive goal.
“I think we deserved to win. It’s true we made some adjustments, such as sitting a little deeper, because we respect Verona and didn’t want to press them high with the risk of sparking their intensity,” De Zerbi told Sky Sport Italia.
“We could’ve been more than a goal up at half-time, but Verona cause problems for everyone and they never back down.”
Ivan Juric claimed Verona dominated the game and could’ve won it before the late Sassuolo strike.
“I am honest and say that when it was 2-2, we could well have lost. We could also have been 2-0 up at the break and conceded a goal entirely against the run of play, it came out of nowhere. It’s Verona, you can lose any match against Verona.”
Hellas were caught offside seven times this afternoon, so sitting slightly deeper was one thing, but Sassuolo also moved the line with more unity.
“My defenders are of a high level. Because I always ask them to play out from the back, people forget they ought to primarily be defenders and so need to focus on making the tackles and timing the runs too.
“I added a fifth defender today because Kevin Lasagna’s pace can hurt anyone, so it was right to provide some extra coverage.”
Sassuolo leapfrogged Verona in the table and still have a game in hand, so how high can they go?
“I think if we confirm our status in eighth place, that is already a fantastic result. Unless someone in the top seven slips up, we’ll struggle to catch them, especially as so many of them have gone out of Europe.
“If we want to do something more, we need to notch up a run of wins and be ready for the final sprint.”
De Zerbi was asked if there is a friendly rivalry with Hellas coach Juric, as they are often mentioned for the same future jobs.
“I admire him because he has a specific identity in his football and I know how difficult that is. I said Verona over the last two years have perhaps even done better than Sassuolo, because this club was already a regular in Serie A when I arrived and Verona were newly-promoted.
“We have different views on how to go about things, but we’ve had a good response with our results and that is what matters.”