Fonseca pleased with side's response

Coach Paulo Fonseca gave credit to his players in the wake of Wednesday's 3-2 win over Cagliari.

The Giallorossi finished the calendar year in winning ways to sit third in the Serie A standing, after goals from Jordan Veretout, Edin Dzeko and Gianluca Mancini.

Here's what the boss had to say after the match...

Are you more happy about the result and the reaction that you team showed in the first half, or a bit concerned about the wobble early in the second half?

“I’m satisfied, it was important to win today. There are no easy games and this game was another example of that. We had to fight until the very end to get the three points.

"I don’t think the scoreline is a fair reflection; we created chances, we had openings and we could have ensured we didn’t have any issues in the final moments of the game like we did. But I’m very pleased with the boys and the three points.”

Did memories of Bergamo come back to you after Joao Pedro’s equaliser?

“We once again had to go through a moment that could have been a bit problematic. I think we have the ability to stay focused throughout even difficult periods.”

Why did you go with Bryan Cristante in defence again?

“We can’t forget that it was a really intense game in Atalanta, and I wanted to rotate a few players. Chris Smalling has only just come back and it is difficult for him to play too many games just now.

"I chose Bryan because of my confidence in him, I like how he plays in that position: it was important for us to have the ball and be able to build out from the back from him.”

Are you starting to think about rotating Pedro, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in those three attacking roles?

“I need to make sure I think about all the options. Pellegrini didn’t start because he has played a lot of games recently and had a minor knock, but I have confidence in all the players. We can make changes, but that doesn’t change the squad’s attitude.”

But which is Pellegrini’s best position?

“He can play in both roles, he has played both of them well in the past. Today he came in and played in the more attacking sport and he did well. For me, it’s difficult to choose where his best position to play is.”

The year ends with Roma in third, despite all the criticism…

“It’s a positive first half of the season, we finish 2020 in third. Perhaps a lot of people did not think that was possible, but the team has always believed in what it can do – even after tough moments. Today the team showed they have been able to keep a balance. We responded well [to the weekend].”

But to continue to fight for the top four, is there something that needs to be done in the transfer market?

“Now we will start to think about the transfer window. We will have a lot of games ahead of us when we come back. It will be important to think about things carefully and choose wisely.”