Di Francesco: “The responsibility lies with me. No excuses”

Eusebio Di Francesco accepted responsibility for Sampdoria’s difficult start to the 2019/20 season after the Blucerchiati were beaten 3-1 by Inter at Marassi on Saturday.

“They did well – credit to them,” began Di Francesco after the game. “We lost too many duels and misplaced too many easy passes. We shouldn’t have conceded the third goal: we’d started the second half well after tweaking the system. Now I need to make sure I figure out how best to set the team up.”

Di Francesco was critical of his players’ approach to the game against the Nerazzurri.

“Respect is fine, but not fear,” he said. “We need to show more courage. We were under pressure, but two of the goals were strange ones – they were the kind of incidents that change games. We made a big mistake for the third goal. It was a different game after the red card to Sanchez, but it’s like we stopped playing.”

The Samp coach also vowed to front up despite a disappointing run of results.

“Generally speaking this isn’t an easy time,” he said. “I feel even more responsible, but I front up after defeats. I came here to put my stamp on this team. I’m in charge of the side and now we need to work very hard to pull through this. In terms of the morale, five defeats from six weighs on you. But there are no excuses. We just need to work hard.”