Pastore: We needed this ahead of the derby

The victory brought to an end the Giallorossi’s recent poor run of form – and just in time for Saturday’s derby meeting against Lazio.

“It was a good game, today we played with a different mentality,” Pastore said.

“We tried to play a bit more, to create more chances – and luckily a few of them went in. It is a really important win for us, to improve our confidence ahead of the next game. We know how important that one is.

On Saturday’s game, he added: “Lazio are playing well at the moment, we are in a city where the derby means a lot. We need to do even more to win it for our fans, for the club. We have to win, there’s no other possibility.”

Pastore once again lit up the game with one of his goals; scoring an almost identical backheel strike to his first for the club, against Atalanta at the same ground earlier in the game.

“Luckily the shot went in, and it helped us to win,” Pastore demurred.

“The most important thing is to get the win, it does not matter who scores or how – the main thing is how the team plays.

“I feel good [in the No. 10 role], both Daniele [De Rossi] and [Steven] Nzonzi played really well and that gave me a lot of opportunity to take the ball between the lines. We did well, played well, but we need to continue to improve and get to know each other better. I’m also happy in that role because I’ve got three strong attackers ahead of me.”