Sampdoria coach Claudio Ranieri hailed the attitude of his players after their 3-1 win at Atalanta.

Samp also eat Lazio 3-0 last week, and put them temporarily in third place alongside La Dea on nine points.

“We were in full relegation battle mode last season and it was so important for us to get points against Atalanta," Ranieri told Sky Sport Italia.

“It was a good game this time, we suffered a little under the pace of Atalanta's passing in the first 20 minutes, but we gained belief and I saw the team fight. You have to fight Atalanta, otherwise they can flatten you."

This was the second big win in a row for Samp, who crushed Lazio 3-0 last week.

“I told the lads that aside from the result, I wanted to see them show courage against Lazio and Atalanta. There would be moments when we'd suffer, and we did, but we had to keep going and be ready when the opportunities arose.

“I know that we have nine points and are 31 away from the magic 40. Last season, we spent the entire time with the water up to our throats, trying to stay out of the relegation zone, and we don't want to be in that position to the very end again."