Totti tips former Benfica star as key for big Italian football clash | OneFootball

Francesco Totti highlighted Bryan Cristante as Roma’s big trump card for the clash with Inter. The team from the Italian capital has made a good start to the season, sitting top of Serie A, and has a big game next matchday. The former striker, a club legend, previewed the game in statements to Gazzetta dello Sport.

"It will be a battle. I played this game many times and I know perfectly well what it means, especially at a time when Roma are at the top of the table," Francesco Totti began, recalling the times he dazzled on the pitch.

The former Roma striker continued: "This is one of those games where you don’t need a shirt and tie, but a helmet. Inter are probably the most elegant team in Serie A, but it will be a battle. It may sound clichéd, but Lautaro Martínez and Paulo Dybala are players capable of changing the course of the game. However, if I had to choose someone to make the difference, I’d bet on Bryan Cristante. He’s a man you can always rely on. Daniele De Rossi was right to say that Roma must always have someone like him."

"Cristante has football intelligence and has always been underestimated, but his presence is felt on the pitch. Bryan always gives you something extra and never holds back in duels," he shot back, then, leaving plenty of praise for the midfielder who passed through Benfica, where he didn’t make it — he was also a topic of conversation in the transfer window.

Totti concluded with a few words about a possible title fight: "I hope they can keep going like this until the end. The road is long and we’re only at the beginning, so we have to wait before making assessments. If they’re still among the leading teams with 7–8 matchdays to go, then they can dream."

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.