Roma, Gasperini: Dybala outstanding, but we need balance | OneFootball

At the end of the victory over Sassuolo, Roma's coach Gian Piero Gasperini spoke at the press conference in the Mapei Stadium's room, commenting on his team's performance and the positive moment in the league.

Roma, Gasperini preaches calm: “We are first together with Napoli, but we must keep our feet on the ground”

“From an offensive point of view, the team was lively,” explained the coach, “with eight shots on target. I'm looking for solutions and I can only do that by playing. Bailey has just returned, Dybala has been out for a long time: they are two quality players, and today Soulé and Dovbyk also came in. Ferguson had a slight ankle issue, but the squad is large. Dybala could have stayed on the field, but I substituted him to give him a breather: we play again on Wednesday and we need freshness. When a player starts playing more consecutive 90-minute games, the risk of injuries increases. We are finding balance, especially on the left side, while we remain solid at the back.”

On the Argentine, Gasperini has no doubts: “Dybala is a true forward, capable of 15 goals without penalties. He has dribbling, shooting, and vision. He must think of having his best season in terms of scoring. Then, with his quality, he also helps us in setting up plays, but he must stay focused on scoring goals.” The coach then praised El Ayanoui: “He ran more than anyone, it's a characteristic of his. I know well what he can offer in terms of intensity.”

Regarding the standings, Gasperini remains cautious: “We are first together with Napoli, but we must keep our feet on the ground. We are happy, but nine matches are not many. In the Europa League, we have complicated things a bit and now we need to recover. In the league, we are there and we are already looking ahead to the next match against Parma.”

Finally, a tactical note on Cristante, deployed in a more advanced position: “He has already played in that role many years ago, scoring a dozen goals with me. He is a mature player, knows timing and spaces, and today the intuition worked. Sometimes they tell me I make confusion, but experimenting is precisely to improve.”

Andrea Alati

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