Vincenzo Italiano admits Fiorentina ‘wasted an opportunity’ in their 4-1 defeat to Sampdoria, but still maintains they ‘deserve’ to enter the Europa League.
The Viola needed a victory to leapfrog Roma and potentially catch Lazio in fifth place, but despite being up against a Samp side that had nothing left to play for, they never really got into the game at Marassi.
It was a limp and insipid performance that saw them lose 4-1 to a team that just escaped relegation and was in celebratory mood.
“There’s not much to say, because our opponents played better, moved quicker and were more focused than we were,” Italiano told DAZN.
“We wasted an opportunity and I am sorry for the people who came to see us, we will try again in the final game. It’s disappointing, because we should’ve had more motivation than Sampdoria, but we were unable to get a goal in the first half.”
The coach believes the fact Sampdoria felt free of the threat of relegation for the first time all season is what allowed them to put in such a great performance.
“These are quality players and when they feel their mentality is free, they can do damage. We deserved to lose today, we have to concentrate on the last chance to get into a competition that I believe we deserve to qualify for.”
The final match is against their arch-rivals Juventus, who already knocked Fiorentina out of the Coppa Italia semi-final.
“We’re in front of our home fans, we must be different to the team people saw today and give 100 per cent.”
.@acffiorentina, le parole di Vincenzo #Italiano dopo la sconfitta con la @sampdoria https://t.co/0iDXbi2Bgd
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) May 16, 2022