The textual chronicle

In the first leg at the U-Power stadium, Monza defeated Salernitana 3-0 with goals by Carlos Augusto, Mota Carvalho and Pessina. Before then, the last matches between the two teams had been in the 2020-2021 season in Serie B and had both been won by the Red & Whites 1-3 and 3-0. The granata come from three defeats in the league, 0-2 against Lazio, 1-0 in Verona and 0-3 at home with Juventus. On 15 February Davide Nicola was sacked and Paulo Sousa was chosen as coach in his place. Despite the difficult phase, Salernitana is in the safety zone, fifth last at 21 points, four more than Verona in third last place. "We will face a team that is difficult to stop because the conception of the back three, the mobility of the midfield and the occupation of the outside create many difficulties - observes coach Paulo Sousa ahead of the match against Monza -. We have worked on our identity to which we must give continuity. In the meantime we make small adjustments with respect to the opponent we meet and that we studied during the week. We are working with good intensity and good humility of work". And Sousa adds: "Candreva is one of the most intelligent players and this gives the possibility to use him in many positions: he has technical quality, he knows the spaces. It is a solution to use it inside the field. Today we also have Mazzocchi, Maggiore and Dia who can help us. We have more solutions during the game. Regarding Bonazzoli, we made him a prototype of a player who is Orsolini of Bologna. Bonazzoli can make our Orsolini".

Here Monza

In their last three games Monza have lost 0-1 at home to Milan, won 0-1 in Bologna and drew 2-2 with Sampdoria. It is eleventh in the standings with 29 points, three less than Juventus in eighth position and six of Bologna in seventh. The seventh place does not automatically guarantee access to the Conference League (it depends on a number of factors including the position in the league of the team that wins the Italian Cup), but Palladino's team, newly promoted to Serie A, is tempted by the blow. "Salerno is a city I love, I left a piece of my heart there. I have many friends, I had a wonderful year as a footballer. I remember the city with great affection", says the coach of the red and whites. "They changed coach, Paulo Sousa is a very good technician, who was also a winner. He has won two championships, he is a coach that I follow a lot. He was also coach of Poland, his curriculum speaks for itself. When a new technician arrives there are new stimuli and new motivations, for us tomorrow there will be many pitfalls. We have to be ready and hungry and approach the game as if it were a final."