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Dzeko: Winning tomorrow vital for our UCL aims


Edin Dzeko was the player selected to face the media on Tuesday, ahead of Roma's Champions League meeting with CSKA Moscow at the Luzhniki Stadium.

Read everything the striker had to say at the press conference...

How do you explain the difference between the team’s form in the league and the Champions League?

“It’s difficult to explain the difference in form. In the Champions League last year we did really well, and even this year – only in Madrid did we fail to play our game. Overall, however, we’ve been consistent.

"Maybe it’s because in Europe there are only a few games and every one you need to give everything you have – but clearly in Serie A we need to do that as well. Sometimes in Serie, against the teams we have dropped points against like Bologna, Chievo and SPAL, you think we should win easily. But we know it’s a tough league, a tactical level, and you always have to be at your very best to win games.”

Are you feeling similar about the Champions League this season as you did last season?

“Last season we really learned how great it can be to play in the Champions League – and to reach the semi-finals was even better. Clearly, tomorrow’s game could help us reach the knockout stages if we win – so because of that it becomes even more important. We played for 12 months to get in the Champions League and now we are here – so we all have to give our best. I’m not going to say that we are aiming to reach the semi-finals again, but we want to do our best to win as many games as we can.”

Is scoring goals a burden on you, or a responsibility?

“It’s a bit of both. I need to score goals, I’m the main player expected to deliver them. When I don’t manage that I am the first person to be angry with myself. Recently I have been scoring a lot in the Champions League and less in Serie A, so clearly I need to improve from that perspective.

"Recently I’ve perhaps wasted a few too many chances. I always think about how I can improve, game-after-game, without dwelling on the past.”

What does Patrik Schick need to do to improve?

“It reminds me a bit of my first year here, even if Patrik is much younger. We have all seen what he can do, not just in training but also with Sampdoria – where he scored goals and played some great football. It needs to start with him, he needs to keep doing his best in training and in games. But us older players can help the younger ones more as well. At times he has been unlucky, for example against Frosinone where, if the goalkeeper doesn’t make that save, it could have changed things. One goal can change everything for him, like any player.”

The first year here people would say you were too nice on the pitch, whereas now at times you would say you seem very angry: has something changed?

“I’m still a good boy, don’t worry about me [laughs]. It’s difficult to change something like that quickly, being more angry on the pitch is a different thing. No-one should think that I like to lose, so I’m angry because of this as well. We have not started the season as we wanted, and that goes for me too.

"I never like to lose, although the coach always likes to tell us that when we lose our concentration we waste five or ten minutes – that’s the truth. But at times when I am angry I actually play better, perhaps because there is an extra motivation behind me.”

This is your third meeting with CSKA – what has changed about them?

“I think it is the sixth, really, as I played twice against them with both Wolfsburg and Manchester City. I think I’ve only lost one of those games, and that was at the old stadium. CSKA have changed a lot, perhaps the only player still there is the goalkeeper Akinfeev. In defence they used to play with three. Now they are a young side but one with the ability to win against anyone – as we saw when they played Real Madrid. We need to be at our best if we want to get a positive result.”