Alberto De Rossi: Fully deserved win

"It was a fully deserved victory for the boys, who controlled the game for long stretches," declared the Giallorossi coach. "It's normal that the result remained in the balance right until the final whistle because Palermo have just come off the back of ten consecutive wins. This win will be important for the rest of the season."

The decisive goal came in the 21st minute thanks to a penalty converted by Riccardo Marchizza and allowed the Giallorossi to stretch their lead at the top to six points on Palermo, currently in second.

Why couldn't the team kill off the game earlier?

"We have so many technically gifted players, but today we were missing the final ball to land the knockout punch. When the result is in the balance, tension rises a bit and, as a result, we gave the ball away a bit too often, which is a negative from today's match.

"The lads were always in control and were very wary, but we must continue to play good football to make progress."

Next up is Wednesday's trip to Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter finals of the UEFA Youth League.

"It's a huge game, which excites us and reminds us of last year. However, we need to look forward. Confirming our position among the top four in Europe would be a big step. Let's enjoy today's win and tomorrow we'll think about PSG."

Is it frustrating that you have to play away from home once again?

"That's the luck of the draw. We're used to playing on the road by now and we hope to make it three wins out of three after Salzburg and PSV Eindhoven.

"The main thing is that the team puts in performances like we did today: compact in terms of technique, tactics and the team. We shook off any nervousness there was at the start."