DI FRANCESCO SHRUGS OFF PENALTY DISAPPOINTMENT AND PRAISES EFFORT
Eusebio Di Francesco praised the effort and commitment his players showed during their penalty shootout defeat against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night. The Giallorossi drew their International Champions Cup opener at Comerica Park 1-1 - Sadiq Umar getting the goal - but fell foul of the lottery of penalties.
Despite that, Di Francesco insisted he had few complaints about the effort from his players.
"Despite the fact that so many players joined up with us late, other than their condition you have to look at whether they did what I asked of them," he noted. "The willingness was definitely there. The thing I liked was the fact the team was compact and, despite the challenges, was able to push up high at times too. There was some wrong decision making, but in the second half we had the chance to go ahead - but for a couple of penalties that were not given. The result is, overall, reasonable given the balance of play. I'm happy with the performance."
Di Francesco had particularly praise for some of the young players that came and played large parts of the contest.
"There were players missing from both teams," he added. "I've played guys out of position, like [Marco Tumminello], because I had to - and has done what i wanted and acquited himself brilliantly. I am satisfied with the young guys, but we don't want to forget there are a lot of elements to this team. Because of this, and some of other reasons, I'm happy with our display."
(Photo LaPresse)
