Leonardo Semplici and Marco Zaffaroni have already switched their focus to a thrilling relegation play-off in Serie A: ‘Mentality will be crucial.’
Spezia lost 2-1 away at Roma, while Verona suffered a 3-1 defeat at San Siro against Milan on Sunday.
This means they have both finished the current campaign with 31 points so the third team joining Sampdoria and Cremonese in Serie B will be determined by a relegation play-off. It will be played next week on natural ground which has yet to be confirmed by Lega Serie A.
The date and time have also not been decided yet.
“We played a good game against a strong team like Roma,” Semplici told DAZN.
“The lads left everything on the pitch, if they play with this desire [against Verona], we have a good chance in the relegation play-off. It hurts to lose for a penalty like this one, the players said it was questionable.
“Surely, we deserved something more, tonight, we lost in the final minutes after a good game. We must prepare well and recharge. It’s a knock-out game so mentality will be crucial.”
The mood was similar at San Siro where a Rafael Leao brace sent Verona to the relegation play-off.
“We played a good game but in the end, we could not stop Leao. We must restart and prepare for a fundamental game,” said Zaffaroni.
“There will be emotional aspects to take into account but we want to go all the way. Where will the game be played? We still haven’t talked about it. We were only focused on this game. Now, we are ready for all the updates.”