Patrick Vieira assures he ‘learned a lot about the team today’ despite it being his first defeat on the Genoa bench, as they ‘showed courage’ against Napoli.
It was very much a game of two halves at Marassi, because Antonio Conte’s side dominated the first half with Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa and Amir Rrahmani headers towering in the penalty area.
However, Genoa fought back with Andrea Pinamonti, then forced several big Alex Meret saves, as well as seeing the woodwork keep out Mario Balotelli in a 2-1 defeat.
“We did better in the second half, we were more aggressive and pushed up higher,” Vieira told DAZN.
“It’s a pity we were unable to score the equaliser, because we would’ve deserved that. I told the lads if we continue to play the way we did in the second half, we’ll win more games than we lose.”
Vieira admires Genoa character
The Grifone had kept three consecutive clean sheets under Vieira, so trailing 2-0 after 23 minutes was not a situation they were accustomed to.
In that sense, the ferocious fightback after the break must’ve been heartening for the coach, despite the negative final result.
“We tried this strategy against Milan and got a point. Against teams that are challenging for the Scudetto, we need to be a bit more aggressive and we showed that courage after the break. I too as a coach learned a lot about the team today.”
Vitinha was not expected to start, but the forward was also helping out the defence in a hybrid role down the left flank.
“Vitinha had not played for two months, but was training well. I wanted to have more of a presence in the penalty area and it was not easy for him, but he worked hard,” explained Vieira.
Balotelli came off the bench for just the last 10 minutes, but still managed to clip the upright and force a tricky Alex Meret save.
“All the players who came on in the second half brought fresh energy and quality. Mario is doing well, he needs to continue training like this.”
