Mancini: A vital win to keep us in the European hunt

"Non era una partita spartiacque, ma era importante vincere. Successi come questi ci danno fiducia". Sono le parole di Gianluca Mancini dopo la sfida con l'Atalanta!

Gianluca Mancini was full of praise for the efforts of his teammates as Roma picked up a 1-0 win over Atalanta on Saturday evening.

Tammy Abraham scored the only goal of the game at the Stadio Olimpico, as the Giallorossi kept pace with those around them in the race for European qualification next season.

Here's what the defender had to say after the game...

What did Jose Mourinho have to say to you after that?

"That today I didn't get a yellow card, which was an achievement [laughs]. Jokes apart, he congratulated us and said that he wouldn't be back in the dugout after this considering we've picked up six points from six without him there!"

What worked today for you?

"Both the 11 who started and those who came on produced something a little bit more than they have done in recent times. We were compact, we dug deep, we created opportunities. Atalanta did very little today. It's great, because these are three big points for us: they keep us in the European hunt."

You could have scored twice today - once with your head and another on your left foot. Is there one of those that you thought was the better chance?

"With the header I perhaps could have done a bit better."

What does it mean for the team to have given a side like Atalanta so little in front of goal?

"We always remember the most recent games, but we've had a few this season like this one. Today it was definitely important to deliver. We created chances and we scored a goal. And when you do that, against a side as good as Atalanta, it gives you a lot of confidence.

"But now we need to focus on the Conference League on Thursday and then Udinese on Sunday - because last time we beat Atalanta 4-1 and then we failed to beat Sampdoria the following weekend. We need to keep producing results in order to stay in the European places."