Newly-appointed Sassuolo coach Alberto Malesani has vowed that the Neroverdi will ‘fight until the end,’ after seeing his side fall to a 2-1 defeat at home to Hellas Verona.
Former Palermo boss Malesani got off to a losing start in Emilia Romagna, having replaced previous incumbent Eusebio Di Francesco earlier in the week after Thomas Manfredini scored an own-goal to put the visitors ahead, with Mastini forward Luca Toni doubling the deficit five minutes from the final whistle, as Antonio Floro Flores headed in a late consolation effort.
Sassuolo fielded no less than seven new signings in their starting-11, with Nicola Sansone also coming off the bench to make only his second appearance for the club since touching down from Parma.
“Many new players have arrived, and I decided to play nearly all of them to see what kind of condition they are in, and also to understand how to deploy my team in the best way,” Malesani told Rai Sport.
“Today there was a good first half, with few opportunities. There was the right balance, which is something I expect from the team.
“In the second half, we didn’t know how to react to going a goal down.”
The result sees the Neroverdi slip down to 19th position, one point from safety, with debutant Paolo Cannavaro being selected as captain for the encounter.
“There’s a lot of trust, the club has done good work. We’re in trouble at the moment but we’ll fight until the end.”
“Cannavaro captain? With [Francesco] Magnanelli out, I chose Cannavaro, who has a lot of experience. [Domenico] Berardi is possibly a little young still.”
