Giampaolo: ‘Proud of Lecce, they deserved something’ against Lazio | OneFootball

Marco Giampaolo told Lecce he was ‘proud of them and they never gave up’ when down to 10 men against Lazio. ‘They deserved to come away with something.’

Even when leaving the field after a 2-1 home defeat, the Salentini were still applauded by their fans for the heroic effort that almost snatched an equaliser in stoppages.

They were down to 10 men for the entire second half, as Frederic Guilbert instinctively tried to clear off the line with his arm, leading to a red card and Taty Castellanos penalty.

Despite that, Tete Morente snatched an equaliser and when Adam Marusic volleyed in at the 87th minute, Lecce still came close to a point with Mohamed Kaba’s header off the bar.

Giampaolo praises plucky Lecce

epa11789062 US Lecce’s Tete Morente celebrates after scoring the 1-1 goal in the Italian Serie A soccer match between US Lecce and SS Lazo at the Via del Mare stadium in Lecce, Italy, 21 December 2024. EPA-EFE/ABBONDANZA SCURO LEZZI

“I think this kind of performance down to 10 men against such a strong opponent should be rewarded with a result. When you don’t get that result, it hurts even more. I told the lads that I am proud of them, they never gave up and unfortunately this is football,” Giampaolo told Sky Sport Italia.

“We prepared the match to at times press high, at others sit deeper, but then we went down to 10 men and the risk is you sit too deep or leave the initiative to Lazio. It was a game that Lecce interpreted well and I struggle to find negative things to say.

“A positive result would’ve been the icing on the cake. They really deserved to come away with something.”

Santiago Pierotti and Morente ended up playing as full-backs to fill the gaps, as they were missing Andy Pelmard, Kialonda Gaspar, Lameck Banda and Joan Gonzalez.

“A defeat is always difficult to swallow, especially for me. The players fortunately are young, they can put the disappointment aside and start focusing on the next match,” concluded Giampaolo.