DANIELE DE ROSSI'S FIRST WIN: GENOA RALLIES AFTER SLOW FIRST HALF
Daniele De Rossi secures his first managerial win at Genoa, a 2-1 comeback against Verona. The new boss praised his team's spirit but demanded a better first-half performance.
Daniele De Rossi celebrated his first win as Genoa's coach today, with a sweet 2-1 comeback against Verona.
This win bumps Genoa up to 15th place in Serie A for now, until the other games this weekend shake things up.
Even with the victory, De Rossi pointed out that the team needs to play better, especially in the first half. He said, “This win is important, even if it doesn’t change everything. We know our first half wasn't great, but the guys always respond well.”
Lorenzo Colombo and Morten Thorsby scored the goals that won the game, after Rafik Belghali put Verona ahead early on.
De Rossi seems happy with how dedicated his team has been. They haven't lost in the three games since he took over.
In his press conference (via TuttoSport), he mentioned, “The attitude in training and during matches is great, but we need to step it up in the first half.”
He also talked about how the team needs to turn ball possession into real scoring chances, something they’ve struggled with this season.
“We had the ball a lot, but we need to figure out how to do things with it. We were too slow and didn't look for open spaces. We’re enjoying this win and the good feeling. We played much better in the second half, even if we got pushed back in the final minutes.
De Rossi also had some advice for two of his key forwards, encouraging them to work together better to create more opportunities for the team.
“Vitinha and Colombo? They need to find each other more. They were a bit static in the first half, even though they helped us get out of a tough spot. These guys need to get assists and score goals to win over the fans.
“I care a lot about my job, the staff, the team, and the fans. A coach’s job is to get the team ready. If the first half wasn’t good, that’s on me. I also have to figure out what was going wrong. It wasn’t really about tactics but more about how we moved the ball. You have to give a little extra.”
Looking ahead to their match against Atalanta in Coppa Italia on Wednesday, De Rossi was asked if he'll make changes to the team.
He replied, “We were just focused on getting ready for today’s match. I’m thinking about it a lot. I’d like to switch out ten players to give everyone a chance, but changing that many players can hurt their ability to play well.
“There will be chances for guys who haven’t played much, but I don’t want to just throw them in there for the sake of it. Coppa Italia is important, and I respect it.”
THE MCTOMINAY VOID: WHY NAPOLI STATISTICALLY STRUGGLE WHENEVER THEIR SCOTTISH STAR IS SIDELINED
With Scott McTominay sidelined by tendon inflammation, Napoli relied on a late Lukaku strike to keep their top-four hopes alive.
Napoli finally got a win without Scott McTominay, thanks to a wild stoppage-time goal against bottom-of-the-table Hellas Verona on Saturday. It’s the first time all season they’ve managed a victory without him.
McTominay missed his fourth straight game for Gli Azzurri. He’s been out since aggravating an injury in that 3-2 win over Genoa back on February 7. Right now, Napoli aren’t taking any risks with their star midfielder. He’s still dealing with tendon inflammation between his hamstring and groin, which has kept him from really training at full speed.
There’s talk in Italy that McTominay could be back for the Torino match on Friday. Scotland manager Steve Clarke has his fingers crossed, hoping his 29-year-old midfielder will be fit in time for friendlies against Japan and the Ivory Coast later this month. That’s when Scotland’s World Cup prep really kicks off.
Napoli have looked lost without McTominay. They hadn’t won any of the four games he missed, including a 1-0 loss to Torino back in October when he was out with an ankle strain.
But they finally broke that bad run in Verona. Romelu Lukaku came off the bench and buried a huge winner in the 95th minute, after Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro had cancelled out Rasmus Hojlund’s early goal for Napoli.
The win keeps Napoli third in Serie A. They’re 14 points behind Inter Milan, so the title is probably out of reach, but they’re still fighting for a Champions League spot.
McTominay wasn’t the only Scot involved. There were actually two Scotland internationals on the pitch at the Marcantonio Bentegodi Stadium. Kieron Bowie played the whole game for Verona and nearly put his team ahead just minutes before Lukaku’s winner. The former Hibs man, who netted his old club a £7 million transfer fee in January, got on the end of a deep cross. Napoli’s keeper Alex Meret missed it, but Bowie, stretching at a tight angle, couldn’t steer the ball home. It rolled right across the empty goal.
Things went from bad to worse for Bowie. Moments later, he was marking Lukaku in the Verona box. The Belgian shrugged him off and slotted in the winning goal. Another tough blow for Verona, who are now bottom of the table, nine points from safety with 11 games left, and they’ve played a game more than everyone they’re chasing.
Billy Gilmour also got a run for Napoli, coming on with Lukaku in the 73rd minute. He earned praise from the Italian media for giving Napoli a late boost. This was only his second appearance off the bench since coming back from nearly four months out with a groin injury. He also played in the 2-2 draw against Roma on February 15.
THE DE ROSSI EFFECT: CAN THE ROMA LEGEND SAVE GENOA FROM SERIE A RELEGATION?
Daniele De Rossi admits Inter Milan were the superior side after Genoa's 2-0 loss, but remains confident in Serie A survival.
Daniele De Rossi didn’t sugarcoat things after Genoa’s 2-0 loss to Inter. “We have to accept Inter are just better than us,” he said. Even so, he still believes Genoa can fight its way out of the relegation mess.
Genoa had just beaten Torino 3-0 and came into San Siro riding that high, but facing the Serie A leaders was always going to be a whole different challenge.
Inter pulled ahead thanks to a ridiculous bit of skill: Federico Dimarco volleyed in Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s chipped pass, and it was one of those goals you just have to applaud. Later, Hakan Calhanoglu made it 2-0 from the penalty spot after Alex Amorim’s handball.
De Rossi wanted more from his team. “We let in the second goal while we were pushing for the equaliser," he told Sky Sport Italia. “Honestly, I’m not happy with how we played. Sure, Inter are the best team in the league, but we didn’t do enough to make things difficult for them. I knew we’d need to be perfect to get a result here. We didn’t show up just to lose, but sometimes you just have to admit when the other side is better.”
Genoa have clawed their way out of the relegation zone with some good results lately, but even solid performances haven’t been enough against teams like Lazio, Napoli, and now Inter.
“Our spot in the table still isn’t great, but there’s a lot of football left,” De Rossi said. “I think we’re heading in the right direction, and we’ve got what it takes to get out of trouble. Just look at how we played against Lazio and Napoli.”
Since taking over from Patrick Vieira on November 6, De Rossi has led the team to five wins, six draws, and six defeats in Serie A.
“I’ve got a picture in my head of the team I want us to become, but time isn’t really on our side. The transfer window’s closed, so we work with what we have. Still, we’re making progress. These guys give me hope,” De Rossi finished.
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