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Italian press defend Ochoa after shipping eight goals

Several media outlets in Italy have come to the defence of the veteran Mexican stopper as the club sack coach Nicola.

MéxicoUpdate:
Guillermo Ochoa during a match with Salernitana.
Jonathan MoscropGetty

Guillermo Ochoa and Salernitana had a weekend to forget after they were thrashed 8-2 by Atalanta in the Matchday 18 Serie A clash. Despite the heavy defeat, the Italian press have defended the Mexican goalkeeper as the side sacked head coach Davide Nicola.

Guillermo Ochoa of Salernitana
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Guillermo Ochoa of SalernitanaJonathan MoscropGetty

High profile sports daily, La Gazzetta dello Sport focused on the saves the Mexican stopper did make adding “Ochoa did everything to make the scoreline respectable”, the Milan based outlet claimed.

La Repubblica focused on Ochoa’s penalty save in the 38th minute of the game as Koopmeiners found the net from the rebound.

However, Corriere dello Sport went further and questioned the continuity of Salernitana’s head coach Nicola stating “It’s crunch time for Salernitana and Nicola’s future hangs by a thread.”

On Monday morning, the Serie A side issued a brief statement confirming that Nicola had been relieved of his duty as head coach and wished him well for the future.

Second heavy loss in Europe for Ochoa

This is not the first time that Guillermo Ochoa has been on the wrong end of a heavy defeat as he was in goal on the day Atletico Madrid put seven past Granada in the 2016 LaLiga fixture at the Vicente Calderon Stadium. The former America keeper also manned the sticks when Chile put seven past El Tri in the Copa America Centenario in 2016.