Empoli coach Davide Nicola hailed Symon Zurkowski after his hat-trick in victory against Monza.

The midfielder has just joined on-loan from Spezia.

Nicola said: "We had to put some behaviors into practice, I saw them and I'm happy with how this match was played. It wasn't easy, the boys did it, it's right that the spotlight is all for them.

"I knew Zurkowski, today he really played a great match. We tried to make the most of the characteristics of our players, everything else can be improved, but seeing this ability to remain compact with the right distances between departments shows that the players' attitude was correct."

Zurkowski, himself, said after the 3-0 win: "I wanted to score but I didn't expect the hat-trick, it's the first of my career. I dedicate it to my son. We want to win every match, we have to play with this spirit. The coach doesn't have to say much, we know what our ranking situation is."