Eusebio Di Francesco admits Sassuolo “aren’t ready for Europe yet” after their Europa League elimination and defeat to Genk on Friday.
Sassuolo’s failure to qualify for the knockout stages was already confirmed prior to their final group game against Genk being postponed, with Di Francesco opting for an experimental line-up that included 18-year-old debutant Claud Adjapong.
“I was certainly hoping for a different type of closure,” the Coach said after the 2-0 defeat, which meant the Neroverdi finished bottom of their group.
Eusebio Di Francesco admits Sassuolo “aren’t ready for Europe yet” after their Europa League elimination and defeat to Genk on Friday.
Sassuolo’s failure to qualify for the knockout stages was already confirmed prior to their final group game against Genk being postponed, with Di Francesco opting for an experimental line-up that included 18-year-old debutant Claud Adjapong.
“I was certainly hoping for a different type of closure,” the Coach said after the 2-0 defeat, which meant the Neroverdi finished bottom of their group.
“The postponement made us change our plans and we played a lad who has never played in the first team. Still, we had a decent game.
“We understand that Sassuolo aren’t ready for Europe yet so we must work for the future, and today we gave some evidence to that effect, like Adjapong playing as a deep-lying midfielder.
“We now have one day less to prepare for the match against Fiorentina. This match was perhaps more a burden than anything else.
“Now I’m smiling to cover up the fact that I don’t like to lose. A good result was important, but we’ll still look forward to the match in Florence with optimism.”