Gasperini analyses Fiorentina win

This is what the boss had to say...

Three big points and a good performance. What's your take on the game? Could you have killed it off sooner?

"There was lots of space to play in but we didn't exploit it well. We were a bit tired though so we focused on managing the game. The only big risk was [Robin] Gosens' chance and [Roberto] Piccoli's shot. Otherwise we controlled the game pretty well. Those chances were quite fortuitous. In the second half we didn't do a lot on the break but we didn't run many risks either.”

Let me make a joke: you asked for a corner instead of a penalty...

“You got it! That's one of our strengths. But we have to be good at taking penalties too...”

Roma fell behind and then started playing. Artem Dovbyk is improving and you scored two great goals. Did you bring on Lorenzo Pellegrini and Paulo Dybala to slow things down?

"Dybala and Pellegrini have more quality. They created some good situations and held the ball up well, taking the initiative away from Fiorentina, who had three big men up front. There was a chance we might concede but they did well and broke up Fiorentina's rhythm.”

Dybala played at centre forward. Is that the way forward? Could you play him alongside Matias Soule?

“No, it was an emergency. [Evan] Ferguson had an ankle problem. Dybala came back on Friday and had only done light training, but you don't lose your technique. He could play like that in any position in attack. He's the sort of player who needs to play behind another striker.”

How does it feel to look at the table and see Roma top awaiting Milan's and Napoli's results?

“We're very happy for the fans and for the players – it's a reward for their performances. We've only played six matches and some people aren't giving us much credit, understandably, about our ability to stay there, but we'll get better and improve the quality of our play. The lads are working hard and have a buzz about them. This is a reward for them and I'm happy for them. We go into the international break feeling confident. We know what we need to do to improve.”

Is the aim to challenge for one of the big trophies?

“No, I didn't say that. We don't have that much credit and I guess it's only right. We must try to keep growing and improving.”