Darmian: "Three priceless points"

UDINE - Matteo Darmian was back in the starting lineup in the league for the first time since he featured against Torino in March. He put in a characteristically top-class performance which contributed to the Nerazzurri’s 2-1 triumph over Udinese.

Darmian gave his thoughts after the match:

“We were aware that after our setback in Bologna there were three huge points at stake here in Udine. We were desperate to pick up a win and I reckon we played out of our skins today. 

“It’s to be expected that we’d be under the cosh after Udinese pulled a goal back but we kept our heads. Maybe we could’ve been better with counter-attacks but we did well holding on as a unit; that speaks volumes of our team spirit.

“After Wednesday’s defeat we were more than aware of the importance of today’s match. We were totally focused because we’ve got to win every game we’re playing in, including the Coppa Italia final. We hope that whoever is above us in the league standings drop points. 

“We don’t look at what the others are doing; we’re already thinking about the Empoli game because every game is a big challenge. We have a lot of self-belief and we’re not throwing in the towel; we’ll see where we stand after 38 games and that’s that. Obviously we’re also keen to come out victorious in the Coppa Italia.”