Di Francesco: Playing top teams like Sevilla is vital for getting us ready

The Giallorossi will face Spanish side Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, in this year's iteration of the Antonio Puerta Trophy.

With a further game on Sunday against Celta completing the club's pre-season preparations, Di Francesco wants his squad to treat both encounters with the utmost professionalism.

"We're making progress in both fitness and tactical awareness," Di Francesco said. "Games like tomorrow's and the one against Celta Viga on Sunday are really useful for us to see where we're at. We'll treat them as if they were league games.

"This is when we really get to see how the lads are shaping up. So far I've been very pleased with the effort they've all shown."

He added: “We still have a lot of work to do on moving as a unit but we've improved gradually and come on loads. Of course I'm not happy yet because you have to repeat certain game situations again and again and it's only in matches that you really understand which areas you need to work on most.

"There's a long way to go but the lads are looking more and more comfortable doing what I want them to do in up front. Our attacking play will become slicker as the players' fitness levels improve.”

What do you think of the current Sevilla team?

“I know [Eduardo] Berrizo because I played a friendly against him last season when he was at Celta Vigo. He plays a different brand of football to [Jorge] Sampaoli but in any case Sevilla have some excellent players. They've brought in [Luis] Muriel, a player I know well. They've added pace and technical ability up front. They're a very competitive side whatever way you look at them.”

Is midfield the area where Roma most need to hone their understanding?

“It's not just the midfield that has to improve but the whole team. We've got through a lot of good work in pre-season, especially considering that some of the lads joined up with us late. When you're not fully fit, certain moves don't come off so smoothly. In any case I don't see the team divided into lines but as a single unit composed of defenders, midfielders and forwards – not forgetting the goalie. If one area isn't working, the others will struggle too. I prefer to talk about Roma as a collective.”

What have the guys who used to be at Sevilla told you about Antonio Puerta?

“Monchi's the one I've spoken to most about him. I remember seeing what happened to him on TV and I think it touched us all. It's an honour for us to be a part of this game and we'll play it to the best of our ability.”

What's it like working with Monchi?

“It's great! Roma are a big club and he's got loads of international experience. I can learn a lot from him. We get on really well and that's very important when you have to work together.”