GENOA – “It was
crucial for us get this win tonight, the lads were very aware of
that. It was important for us after games against Tottenham and
Juve when we played well, today we got the result as well. What’s
even more important is that we now find some consistency.“ That
was Andrea Stramaccioni’s first comment after watching his side claim
three points at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris thanks to Rodrigo Palacio’s
double.
The coach went on to praise the Argentine striker, who took his total to 22
goals for the season with his brace this evening: “His was the
first name I put to my president, the first player we decided to build things around. His season is worth double: he’s come on loads and has become one of
the leaders of this team.”
Stramaccioni was asked for a comment about Mauro Icardi: “He looked very
good. He’s one of the best youngsters around in Serie A.”
As for Matias Silvestre: “I think he played very well tonight. When
Sampdoria were having their best spell, he showed he’s capable of performing well. Why didn’t Samuel play? We need to handle him carefully
and we didn’t want to push anything by putting him through two games so
close together.”
The coach also reserved praise for Mateo Kovacic: “He was the deep-lying playmaker that I was
after. He’s an absolute top-class player, Inter have made a sound
investment there. Guarin? Overall I’m satisfied with his
performance.”
