Giampaolo happy to come through cup tie unscathed

It was by no means a memorable performance from Sampdoria as they edged past Viterbese in the Coppa Italia, but ultimately the Blucerchiati got the job done – courtesy of Jakub Jankto’s second-half strike – and did enough to leave Marco Giampaolo feeling sufficiently satisfied.

“We came into this game with a dual objective: to reach the next round and get minutes under our belts. We achieved both,” the boss said after the 1-0 victory at the Ferraris.

Giampaolo admitted that his side looked leggier than their lower-league opponents, stressing that differences in ability tend to be less pronounced at this early stage of the campaign.

“They’d played more competitive football than us and were in better physical shape but you still have to show you’re superior. Other Serie A sides have been knocked out because of that. It’s a fine line.

“There are lots of little things we need to work on but we’ll do better when we’re fresher.”