Mazzarri happy with Coppa Italia progress

Sampdoria coach Walter Mazzarri was happy with their 2-1 win over Serie B side Empoli in the Coppa Italia last night.

“We have come out of this match with a good result, but we must continue this trend against Lecce this weekend,” Mazzarri said.

“It wasn’t easy to play fast football at the start because they closed us down well, but things went better after half-time.

“We could have put the game to bed earlier, but we made life complicated and risked losing the lead on a couple of occasions.

“I told Dessena after he committed the first foul not to put in tackles in the middle of the park, but he is young and naïve – he will learn.

“Still, after his dismissal the other players upped their work rate and intensity and we deserved to double the advantage.

“All in all I am happy with what I saw and we can take the positives with us.”

[Source: La Gazzetta dello Sport]