19 August 2024
THIAGO MOTTA'S THOUGHTS
"I'm very satisfied with the performance and the result. We played excellently and deservedly won. Now we focus on recovery and we are already thinking about the next match. The data helps a lot to understand what we can focus on to improve. I really liked our defensive play and the movement of the forwards. Of course, we can improve, we will try to take it day by day. I think this team must and can do that. Mbangula? Samuel was very calm, it's a good feeling for him. He deserved to play today because of the work he's doing with the group.
"All good players can play together. Thuram had a good game, Manu played very well, communicating a lot and reading the game well. Douglas and Nicolò came in very well to continue to dictate the tempo. We have players who want to have the ball, who want to play. Locatelli is a great player, a top-level player. I saw from day one his willingness to occupy different positions on the pitch. We're happy to have him, he had an excellent performance, instructing his teammates on what to do at every moment of the game. Yildiz, if he plays like he did today with responsibility he can play anywhere. He is a great player, technically, physically and also mentally. And then he's a guy who works very hard and that should be underlined."
MANUEL LOCATELLI'S COMMENTS
"We have to work hard every day, we have a young team and the coach asked us to do this, all it took was a spark to light up the stadium. I congratulate Samuel, he deserves this and he has to keep working because he has all the qualities to be here. I like my role, I want to improve and return to my best level."
ANDREA CAMBIASO'S THOUGHTS
"We struggled a little bit in the first 20 minutes but then we improved and it went very well. We've always had desire and hunger and the coach gives us a lot of that in every training session. Even the guys who played in Next Gen last year performed very well tonight. What is the coach asking of us? To play football, he's asking us to express our qualities, to attack and defend all together. I see the coach more and more determined, every day he asks us to work as hard as possible and to think about the present because with the present we build the future."
SAMUEL MBANGULA'S DELIGHT
"It's a special emotion, it was my first time playing in Serie A and with the first team in a competitive match. I'm very happy with tonight. When I hear the crowd in the stadium... It's an incredible feeling.”
