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The Giallorossi boss - who worked with Defrel during their time at Sassuolo - knows the Frenchman well, and believes Defrel's first goal for the Giallorossi will take the pressure off his shoulders.
"Defrel needs confidence," Di Francesco said at his pre-match press conference. "He’s a forward and he needs to score goals.
"We need all our players so he needs to rediscover his scoring form. He’s sacrificed himself for the team a lot already and he’ll continue to do that. I hope that his willingness to work hard for his team-mates and coach pays off for him.
"He needs confidence, he needs to be supported and he needs to start scoring goals again."
The coach revealed he is considering how best to use Defrel and his other forwards on Saturday, with a crucial Champions League home clash also on the horizon.
"I don’t know – Defrel might play as central striker or at right wing," he noted. "He’ll definitely be involved in the game. I’m going to evaluate all the players’ fitness today, with one eye on Tuesday’s match against Chelsea.
"That said, our sole objective at the moment is beating Bologna. After that, we’ll think about everything else."
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