Eusebio Di Francesco joked that his Frosinone side like to make things difficult for themselves, after nearly throwing away a 2-1 win over Empoli. The Canarini had much of the possession and chances, with Marvin Cuni and Arijon Ibrahimovic scoring the opening goals. Empoli clawed one back through Francesco Caputo and would have drawn level late on, but for a marginal offside.
Speaking in the post-match about the performance, Di Francesco referred back to what happened to his side against Cagliari, where they took a 3-0 lead, only to lose 4-3 in the closing stages.
“We expressed very good football. In the first few minutes we didn’t do well, we had to clean ourselves up from the dross of the 120 minutes in the Coppa Italia. I expected them to start stronger. The risks in the final stages? We like to make things difficult for ourselves. But unlike what happened in Cagliari, here we brought home the three points. It would have been a mockery not to win, as it was in Cagliari. But there we had many demerits ourselves. Today I would have been even more disappointed than last week.”
“I always see great progress, especially in light of the young age of the team. These guys need to have a lot of awareness, but at the same time a lot of humility. Sometimes awareness can lead to conceit, and this must not happen. We we have to be meaner. But this is part of the experience that these young and rookie guys in this category will have to gain with time.
“Average age of today’s starters? I don’t know, but I imagine very low (just under 23 years old). But I don’t know for sure because I haven’t looked at it. I simply fielded what I thought was the best possible lineup for this game.”
“Mistakes are not a problem. I want the boys to always react after a mistake. And Ibrahimovic has this personality, he tries the play and makes up for his mistakes. I wanted to make his debut already a few months ago, however I felt it was a risk. During training he has grown so much. he has also taken some crap from me.
“For me, players are like children and I raise them with carrot and stick. He has to grow, he has a desire to do. He must not stop, he must continue to work with humility. Cuni never gives up anything, he always gives everything. Let’s remember that he comes from the German third division, mistakes and difficult matches are part of growth.”