Di Francesco: Radja was a superhero tonight

The Giallorossi ran out 2-1 winners at the Stadio Olimpico, thanks to goals from Diego Perotti (from the penalty spot) and Radja Nainggolan.

JOURNALIST: Radja Nainggolan recovered fantastically to play...

DI FRANCESCO: “He suffered a strain around eight days ago – this just shows how good he is at recovering, as well as his iron will. We call him ‘Ninja’, but I’d say he’s a super hero.”

It was basically a perfect game...

“Yes. I spoke ahead of the match about Lazio’s great counter-attacking ability. We had to deal with their play high up the pitch, without changing our own approach. We stayed aggressive up front, giving up perhaps a bit of space. This allowed us to keep control of the game for long stretches.”

Alessandro Florenzi left the field with a complaint. How is he?

“He was just a bit fatigued. He played a really important game with the national team during the week. He tried to recover and also gave a great deal today.”

You applied a lot of offensive pressure today. How did you prepare the game?

“We played in a similar way in Florence, with a lot of pressure and movement from the attackers as well as the full backs. We prepared for certain scenarios. We perhaps could have done more of that in the first half. When a team plays with three defenders and opens up, we are there trying to put them under pressure, high up the pitch. There was a risk for us there, given their ability to play direct, but it helped us a lot.”

The team seems to be entirely receptive of what you say.

“At Roma, the most difficult thing is to get into the players’ heads and I think that, now, we’ve got to that stage. The boys have great conviction in what they do and we prepare all our matches in a very determined way.

"I’m now even happier with what we’re doing in the attacking areas: I see different bits of movement that I’m pleased with. Given this backdrop, we need to keep going. We need consistency. We’ve developed hugely, especially in training. That makes the difference.”

How does it feel to win the derby as a coach?

“It’s hugely satisfying. I’ll always remember this one, because it’s the first I’ve won as a coach. It’s wonderful and I can assure you it’s more of an ordeal as a coach than as a player.”

How do you feel being so high up the table, two points away from Napoli?

“We hope to stay near the top of the league for a while – not many had us as one of their favourites. I believe in the work we’re doing and what I’m doing here. Now the players realise that pushing into the opponent’s half has great benefits.”