Gasperini discusses Roma’s mentality ahead of Bologna: “Every match is crucial, in Serie A and Europa.” | OneFootball

Tomorrow at 6:45 PM, Roma travels to Bologna for the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie.

The Giallorossi are eager to bounce back after their recent disappointing league results, which have put their fourth-place finish at risk. Coach Gian Piero Gasperini spoke at a press conference on the eve of the match at the Dall’Ara Stadium.

The coach began by discussing Hermoso’s condition and possible rotation ahead of the Como match: “We’ll see Hermoso tomorrow. But when he’s called up, he’s available to play. Then we’ll see if he starts or starts during the match; he could start and then maybe be a substitution.”

“Every match is crucial. Tomorrow will be important for Europe, then Como for the league, then Europe again, and then Lecce. We won’t make any calculations.”

On Pellegrini’s contract renewal: “It’s absolutely not a topic to discuss now. Everyone’s attention, especially his, is focused on performance. Then there are games where you play better and games where you struggle, but that’s the case for everyone.”

On Malen: “No, but we always play with eleven men, and we can’t use more, but I don’t think that’s a problem. Since, as you’ve pointed out, we’re scoring more goals, it’s not a problem. The problem is dictated by the games, by the matches, which sometimes you create much more, other times a little less. However, as you said, the trend is certainly positive, thanks to Malen’s arrival, which has given us more threat up front. We’re in a real state of emergency in attack.”

Gasperini then spoke about Roma’s objectives: “I don’t remember talking about priorities, but both competitions are our priority. The Coppa Italia was too. We’ve always focused on playing at our best for all our objectives. I don’t see how we can make decisions; we can’t play less for certain competitions. We always give our all; if we don’t manage to do so, it’s not by choice.”

On the attack: “We have this situation in attack where we’ve lost a lot of players compared to the first leg. Dovbyk, Ferguson, Dybala, Baldanzi, and Soulé are gone. We have Malen, but we’ve lost some of our numbers. Then we’re trying to bring the others in. Zaragoza has always played except in the last game. He’s been with us less than a month, and it’s not easy for anyone to do what Malen did; he’s a rare case. Adaptation is needed. Zaragoza provided a great assist in Naples. He needs a bit of time to settle in, and we’re rotating several players in that role. Pellegrini is playing most consistently, then there’s Venturino. El Shaarawy recently returned, and Zaragoza is there. Vaz is settling in. We’re in dire straits, but we’re trying to improve. Our numbers are actually better. In this regard, we’re trying to complement each other and play our games, as we’re doing.”

Vaz and Malen together from the start?: “Anything is possible. If I made that choice at Genoa, it’s because I thought it was the best solution. Vaz has made a lot of appearances since he arrived, he needs to improve. If I’ve made other choices, it’s always because I thought they were the best.”