Smalling: The team spirit was fantastic

You scored your first goal for Roma - I suppose you are very happy, it’s a special night for you...

“Yes, I think it’s it’s been a long time coming,” Smalling started. “I’ve had big chances in the previous games, so it’s nice to contribute at the other end. I think it’s important that other players were able to step up. Tonight was almost a complete performance, because the team spirit even when we went down to ten men was fantastic.”

You have shown to be very strong in character, do you agree?

“Yeah, I think obviously coming from the English league to Serie A, I didn’t have long to settle but I think they’re two leagues that really suit my game. Especially in Italy, I’m up against two strikers a lot of the time who want to be aggressive, quick in the channel and receive lots of crosses, so it’s a league that definitely suits my game.”

How did it feel to win a game in when you were down to ten men? Have you ever won a game so convincingly when your team was down a man?

“I think normally, when you’re down to ten men for so long in the game, you’re often the team that’s on the back foot and defending a lot. But I think today, we didn’t let it affect us and we went further on the front foot. I think at half-time we knew that we would get more chances because they were a team who was set up very deep. Obviously they felt like they could come and attack us, but every time our front three got the ball into the attack it seemed like we could score – we were very ruthless tonight.

What do you like the most about this Roma team?

“The thing I like the most is the team spirit. From the first day that I came in, I could see that it was a team that wanted to win - a team that really wanted to achieve something this season. At the minute, we’ve had a good start to the season, but we all know that we’re far from what we want to achieve. We want to be close to the top of the table and we’ve got cups to win as well. It’s a very ambitious team, a very ambitious manager and I’m very lucky to be a part of it.”