Giampaolo: “We’ll take away the positives”

Marco Giampaolo asked his Sampdoria side not to leave Milan with their heads down and that was very much the case, despite the defeat.

In fact, Samp were in with a shout right until the final whistle despite the fact that the away side had no clear chances.

“Losing matches happens but you’ve got to show courage, and that’s what we’ve done. We tried our best. All I can complain about is the goal we conceded because we’d worked a lot on these situations, including this morning.

“After 20 minutes we regrouped and organised ourselves better. Milan are a good side and don’t make things easy for you; they deserve praise. We’ll take away the positives.

“I’m happy with both of the forwards’ performances, but they didn’t get enough support. As for Fabio Quagliarella, I wanted to give him minutes. I’m happy with how our forwards played but we need to improve our build-up play.

“We matched them in terms of possession but it’s clear there’s a gap between Milan and Sampdoria.

“Thanks to the fans; as with last Sunday they really helped us. We have to make the most of them in these games. I’m aware of how crucial a difference they can make.”