D’Aversa: “We were after the three points. We need to strike a better balance”

While Sampdoria’s 3-3 thriller against Udinese was a joy to watch for the neutral, it left a bittersweet taste in the mouth of the home side’s coach Roberto D’Aversa. “There’s a lingering feeling of regret after drawing, even if Udinese were better than us in the first half, showing more determination in 50/50s. We came out after the break with a different attitude. It’s a shame we didn’t get the three points, we were keen to pick them up in order to climb the table.”

The coach sees room for improvement. “We need to find more balance in our performances, both when we’re in possession and when the opponent have the ball. We conceded possession too many times, we need to improve in this regard. The team did well at overturning the scoreline, that’s a big positive for us. The downside was conceding two goals from as many set pieces.”

D’Aversa was also asked about two of the goalscorers of the day, veterans Fabio Quagliarella and Antonio Candreva. “As for Quagliarella, in addition to getting off the mark for the season in Serie A, he played a great game overall. He kept his cool to score from the spot, despite Marco Silvestri’s provocations, who did everything to put him off. With Candreva, I’m encouraging and baiting him in order to try to coax the best performances out of him this season.”