Paulo Sousa defended his unusual tactical and personnel changes after Fiorentina lost to Genoa in a rescheduled Week 3 game.

The match was originally abandoned after 26 minutes and 30 seconds due to rain on September 11, so picked up where it had been interrupted.

Darko Lazovic scored the decisive goal for the 1-0 Genoa victory at Marassi, but Sousa was criticised for starting Nikola Kalinic and Josip Ilicic on the bench.

Paulo Sousa defended his unusual tactical and personnel changes after Fiorentina lost to Genoa in a rescheduled Week 3 game.

The match was originally abandoned after 26 minutes and 30 seconds due to rain on September 11, so picked up where it had been interrupted.

Darko Lazovic scored the decisive goal for the 1-0 Genoa victory at Marassi, but Sousa was criticised for starting Nikola Kalinic and Josip Ilicic on the bench.

“It was a tactical choice, but also squad rotation and with Khouma Babacar’s absence I wanted to balance things out,” the Coach told Mediaset Premium.

“At the start we tried to bring the play to the flanks, which is where Genoa tend to develop their approach. We tried to fight back, but were unable to do it.

“Unfortunately we made several individual errors that did not allow us to achieve our objective. We had to run risks to get back into the game, otherwise I would’ve left Kalinic out entirely.

“We weren’t having a good day, but still improved as the second half went on.”

Mauro Zarate was given a rare start and hit the crossbar with a ferocious solo effort.

“What Zarate needs to be consistent and play big games is the right attitude.”

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