Coach Paulo Fonseca saw his side make it six games unbeaten on Sunday night, as the Giallorossi ran out 2-1 winners against Fiorentina. Jordan Veretout was the scorer of both goals - converting from the penalty spot at the end of both halves to clinch a vital three points. Here's what the boss had to say after the game at the Olimpico...
Five wins and a draw in your last six games now: what did you like most about your side tonight?
“This was a tough game – Fiorentina had not lost in their last six matches, they have often come away with good results on their travels, they know how to make things difficult. I think we put in a great team performance; we created so many chances to score. It was a huge win for us.”
Nikola Milenkovic’s goal was a bit like one you conceded against Inter. Was the same mistake made?
“It’s true, we made the same error that happened against Inter. Fiorentina only really created chances from dead-ball situations and we’ve worked a lot on those – but we got it wrong that time, in the same zone in the box. Usually we haven’t had many problems like that this season, but now we will have to take a look at how we address that issue.”
It seems like there is more calmness among the squad now – could more takeover rumours affect that?
“No, the team is doing well and is full of confidence. For me that is not an issue. All we are thinking about is the action on the pitch and the next game against Torino.”
You team seems more patient on the pitch and physically continues to get better – how important is that heading into the Europa League?
“When you play regularly with pretty much the same set of players it makes sense that the physical condition improves a lot. We have played our way recently, patiently, making sure when we win the ball back we try to move it around quickly and create options in the final third. This evening the team found spaces against an opponent that usually shuts them well, and from that they created plenty of chances.”
Unlike some of the Italian teams, in Nicolo Zaniolo do you have a young player around whom you can build your team?
“I think that Zaniolo clearly has great ability but we can’t forget that he is still young. It’s very early to put pressure like that on him. Let’s leave him to develop at the right pace – because he has so much talent and could became a really important player for Roma."
Is it still too soon for him to start?
“We will have to see. Zaniolo has one problem right now: we are not training much and we don’t have much time to recover either. So for him it’s not easy right now to get into the very best shape he can be.”
(Photo Getty Images)
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Source: legaseriea.it