Nainggolan: People were too quick to criticise us

The Giallorossi were widely criticised after losing at home to Inter Milan earlier in the season but the Belgian midfielder thinks some of the coverage was over the top.

“I think people were a bit too quick to criticise us,” Nainggolan claimed after the victory in which Edin Dzeko and Stephan El Shaarawy (2) both scored. “They said we weren't playing good football after one defeat. We're working well and you can see that both from the results we're picking up and the football we're playing. If we keep going like this, we'll enjoy our football.”

After a slow start, that's three wins on the bounce now and another impressive showing today...

“We've only lost one match to Inter and we played well in that match. We played lots of good football today but we need to manage the game better when we're in front. If we'd conceded a goal a bit earlier today, we might have struggled. We need to improve in all areas. The winning run we're on is good for morale.”

You travel to AC Milan next week – a fixture some people see as a six-pointer for fourth place...

“It's still the start of the season so it's too early to say. The league will be more evenly balanced this year. Lots of teams have strengthened and the gap between the top few and the others has been reduced. It's going to be a real battle – for us and for everyone else.”

How important are those three points you're missing from the Sampdoria game?

“We've won today and now we have to focus on the Champions League. We know we have a game in hand but you can only count the points once you've played the match.”