Gasperini’s comments following Roma v Milan

Here's what the coach said.

Modric said that Roma dominated the first half, but that without the penalty, the match would probably have ended 1–0. Do you share that assessment? Are you satisfied with this point? And one last curiosity: before the penalty, Gritti was seen gesturing “four” — was Cristante supposed to take it?

 “No, it’s because both designated penalty takers had come off, which were Dybala and Pellegrini. So they asked who should take the penalty, and immediately said Cristante, then Pellegrini came back on. In short, Pellegrini was the chosen one, and he took it very well, too. Roma dominated the first half, but it’s true that when Milan takes the lead, it becomes difficult, because they are always very dangerous on the counter-attack, even with fresh players like Pulisic. The match was clearly complicated, but if I’m honest, in this game, had we not gone behind, we would also have had a great chance of winning.”

What kind of perspective does this match leave? With these new signings, how far can this team go, and is there still room to move in the transfer market?

“This is absolutely fine. Malen is an extraordinary player in that role, and by playing, he keeps building consistency, endurance and resilience. Even tonight, against a difficult defense like Milan’s — very deep and focused on cutting off passing lanes to him — he produced some extraordinary moments. We’re very convinced about him; he also had a big chance, and I think he’s been a terrific signing. We’re a very young team, and young players keep coming in: we were thinking of an under-25 group, and now we’re almost under 20. We’ll have a very strong Primavera side in the finals. We’re continuing on our path, and tonight we faced Milan, who the table quite rightly identifies as the second-strongest team in the league, and we come out of it truly stronger.”

 Roma pressed very high up the pitch and took away Milan’s main strength, working extremely well on preventive positioning and without conceding counter-attacks. Was that something you had prepared ahead of the match?

“That’s a huge credit to the team, because Milan has some very dangerous pace. I’d start with Leao, then when Pulisic came on, and Rabiot brings great physicality as well. It’s a side that is always dangerous, even when you feel you’re dominating them. It’s no coincidence that in many matches Milan looked on the verge of losing and then went on to win. You always have to stay extremely focused and alert. I truly believe that this year I have an outstanding defense because conceding so little to a team like Milan, with those kinds of fast players up front, is the result of great discipline, but also great physical strength”.

 Ghilardi deserves a mention: he started the season with some adaptation difficulties, but in recent performances, he seems much more confident.

“Absolutely yes. Not only tonight, but also in the Europa League match against Stuttgart, where the opponents were anything but easy. He has grown exponentially compared to the start of the season, when he showed good qualities but also mixed in some mistimed movements that opened up space for the opposition. He has definitely matured and now has much better balance. He has always had the qualities, but that’s how it is with young players: sometimes in the first few months you don’t see everything, then after four, five or six months the development becomes evident. We are certainly very pleased with that”.