Fiorentina coach Paulo Sousa says his side played with control after they defeated Sampdoria 2-0 at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Sunday night.
A first half penalty by Josip Ilicic gave the Viola the lead and second half strike by Nikola Kalinic secured the victory. The win puts the Tuscans top of Serie A heading into the international break.
“I’m happy because it’s hard to play here,” Sousa told Premium Sports after the Sampdoria game.
“We were restricted from the start after we received two yellow cards very early on.
“We had great control and we handled the game with our best features, possession, practicality and the ability to finish with the victory.”
The Fiorentina boss was asked whether his side can win the Scudetto after their fine start to the season but the Portuguese man was not interested in answering the question directly.
“We want to compete playing with our principles of football,” Sousa added.
“We really want to play happy and positive football, to win every match with that attitude.”
The Gigliati now face Empoli in the Derby dell’Arno in two weeks time after the international break.
