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Here's what our coach had to say.
We witnessed two courageous teams who took risks, who wanted to win by playing bold and attacking football. Is that a fair assessment? Is it a proud evening for Italian football?
“It was certainly a very exciting match. We clearly come away from it feeling very disappointed because we saw the best and the worst of what we could’ve done. The best was almost the entire match, whereas the worst was in the situations where we conceded goals. This put us in a position where we had to be bold – we were always fighting back, despite having played really well against a team like Bologna. It's a shame that we made certain mistakes.”
Indeed, especially for the second and third goals. Such individual mistakes have been a recurring theme in recent weeks.
“This includes the first one, when [Gianluca] Mancini, after being held, was left on the ground. This meant [Jonathan] Rowe was free to do his thing. It's a rather unusual situation that unfortunately cost us the goal.”
How do you judge this stark difference compared to a few weeks ago, when there was a resounding level of defensive focus?
“It’s probably because at this point in the season standards are higher. Fatigue and pressure can play greater roles. We did a lot of very good things and the team played consistently throughout the 90 minutes. We bounced back, then conceded a penalty with a minute left in the first half. We responded by counterattacking but went 3-1 down, but continued to play the same way and even seemed to have momentum on our side. However, when you make certain mistakes, you lose.”
Given Roma’s performance, and given the substitutions you made tonight, how much are you missing Paulo Dybala, Matias Soule, Artem Dovbyk and Evan Ferguson?
"We were a bit tired in extra time, especially in defence, but we couldn't make any changes there either because they brought on three fresh and pacy forwards. It wasn't easy, even though I tried to avoid taking any further risks. It's clear that you struggle if you're missing four or five players compared to the first leg, all of whom play in the same part of the pitch. Despite this, Donyell Malen did really well – he’s really improved our attacking threat compared to the first half of the season.
“However, it’s also fair to say that in the first half of the season we had more options, so it’s a give-and-take scenario. If I think about Como and especially tonight's match, I don't have much to ask of my players, because they put in another top-notch performance.
“We've been dealing with the attacking issue since the beginning of the season. I came to Rome with the hope and dream of being able to implement certain attacking strategies. However, for one reason or another, whether due to injuries or because we weren't able to acquire players with certain characteristics, it’s been more difficult. Despite this, I have to say that the players have always been amazing and have always tried to give their all, including this evening.”
Can we say that the bright spot today was Robinio Vaz?
“Undoubtedly. He's a very young player. His price tag is a burden and it means a lot is expected from him, but he’s a player who needs to improve. Obviously playing on this stage isn’t straightforward, but his energy and strength can offer something extra, as it did this evening. He can be a useful player to us in that regard. When it comes to really kicking on, obviously we were missing higher-calibre players, such as the ones you mentioned previously.”
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