Rigoni: “We have a lot to improve on but we missed a chance here”

Emiliano Rigoni could well have been celebrating his first goal for Doria had Alex Meret not pulled off a fabulous save to deny his left-footed effort at the Stadio San Paolo on Saturday evening.

After the game, Rigoni rued the missed opportunity in what was a big test for the Blucerchiati.

“We knew it was going to be a tough match,” the Samp No.10 told club media. “We tried to keep our balance, but they play great football and it was clicking for them. I think we had the chances to draw level in the first half and that would have changed the game. They took their chances well, unlike us.”

The Argentine admitted that there is a lot for Samp to work on after a difficult start to the season.

“We have a lot to improve on,” said Rigoni. “We need to get some confidence by winning games and focusing on not losing our next one at home. We have to take it game by game to get to 100%. I had an off and on match today – I think I made a few mistakes and was lacking a bit of precision, but the confidence will come with time.

“I come from a different league with a different level of intensity, so it’ll take time to adjust to the tempo of Serie A, which is very different. The morale is low after a defeat, but we need to turn the page and kick on. We need to stick together, train hard and focus. That’s how we’ll start picking up points.”