Paulo Sousa felt Fiorentina had started to “dominate, equalise and think we could win” before the late Juventus decider.
Sami Khedira’s header was cancelled out by Nikola Kalinic, but Gonzalo Higuain scored on his Juve debut to seal the 2-1 result.
Paulo Sousa felt Fiorentina had started to “dominate, equalise and think we could win” before the late Juventus decider.
Sami Khedira’s header was cancelled out by Nikola Kalinic, but Gonzalo Higuain scored on his Juve debut to seal the 2-1 result.
“Juve put pressure on and made us run a bit more than we did last season, but slowly my team tried to find a way through until we started to dominate, equalise and think we could win the game,” the Coach told Sky Sport Italia.
“Unfortunately a lucky ricochet went well for our opponents, we kept trying, but Juventus did well to slow the tempo and prevent us from getting the point we deserved from the second half performance.”
Sousa surprised everyone by starting 18-year-old Federico Chiesa – the son of former striker Enrico – because Borja Valero did not recover from a sprained ankle.
“Borja Valero had extensive therapy, but realised he could not give us his best, so I moved on to Chiesa. He works hard, needs to grow tactically and technically, but has a strong mentality and we are trying to help him settle in as quickly as possible to this professional level.
“I think Chiesa can become an important player and future symbol of Fiorentina.
“We worked on a few structural variations and different dynamics with the players we had at the start of pre-season, because many of the players didn’t arrive until quite late.
“We have solid foundations and improved as the game wore on, playing on a par with a great side like Juventus and even aiming for victory.
“Having these other options and versatility can help us be more unpredictable over the course of a campaign.
“Last year we began to dream and encouraged the dream, as it helped everyone believe in what we were doing and build enthusiasm for the project.
“I don’t look to small targets, as I prefer to aim high. I believe all the players can improve, so can the team, and enthusiasm is an important element.
“We began with certain difficulties this summer, but last year people had very low expectations and we raised them. I think this team can repeat the good work we did last season and contribute to Italian football with an important club like Fiorentina.”