Gabriele Cioffi felt Udinese might have beaten Genoa on another but ultimately had to settle for a hard-earned 0-0 draw in Marassi
“Despite the fatigue from our Coppa Italia exertions, we could have got more than a point today – we wanted all three,” the coach began.
“We didn't play well and it was scrappy but we were aggressive and tried to fight our way to victory. They battled in the same way and we had to give up our usual game.”
Towards the end with a man advantage Udinese had the chance to win the match but “by then we were exhausted physically and mentally. It's been a tough few weeks but we came here with our heads high and tried to make our own luck.”
Asked about Gerard Deulofeu, Cioffi replied: “He's a player who can win the game for you at any time. It wasn't happening for him today but when I thought of taking him off they went down to ten men and I felt he might be able to open them up.”
The coach went on to explain why Destiny Udogie didn't start: “He felt dizzy during the warm-up but he really wanted to come on in the second half and he showed a great attitude.”
Udinese ended the match without registering a shot on goal but the coach insisted that was no reflection on his side's approach.
“Not having a shot doesn't mean we came here to play for 0-0. You have to consider the way both teams came into the game. We wanted to obtain as many points as possible and today a point was the most we could obtain.”