Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli tried to be upbeat, despite defeat to Genoa last night.

Goals from Raffaele Palladino and Giandomenico Mesto sandwiched Marco Marchionni's effort for Fiorentina to earn the three points for Genoa.

"We performed well tonight both in terms of character and the quality of the football," insisted Prandelli.

"I am proud of these lads. There were a few mistakes, but those are understandable under the circumstances."

Prandelli had said he would wait a long time before fielding the trident attack, but surprisingly picked Alberto Gilardino, Stevan Jovetic and Adrian Mutu together.

"[Marco] Marchionni was coming from an injury, [Mario Alberto] Santana was out and in the first half we did do pretty well.

"The team started to get a little tired, so I introduced Marchionni to liven things up and it worked for a while, as he contributed to the goal.

"In the last few games we have also been affected by some negative incidents, but the lads need to relax, as the results will come soon."