Gasperini on Udinese-Roma: “I have to recover Koné and Dybala”

A battle atmosphere and a defeat that weighs on Roma’s Champions League race. The defeat in Udine (1-0) made the Giallorossi slip to fifth place and angered Gasperini. Not so much for the performance of Pellegrini and his teammates though. “I saw character. We lacked quality up front, precise plays in the final meters – said Gasp -. We also had bad luck in the final due to the famous centimeters and even the goal conceded is a symptom of an unlucky evening. But we always go out with our heads held high and we will find the strength to always improve.” The only issue that makes the Giallorossi coach lose his composure is the foul which led to the shot deflected by Malen which led to Udinese’s goal. “This is becoming football and the goal was born from that free kick, I appreciated Saelemaekers’ words. This is football, a search for these situations to take advantage, I’m sorry but that’s how it is.”

market

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The attempts in front of goal were lacking, an anomaly given the way Roma have played in recent times. “But they also only shot from distance. It was a very close game, not good on a technical level. It’s not true that we didn’t have any opportunities, when you bring 5-6 men inside the area it’s an opportunity.” On the transfer market, the coach doesn’t seem fully satisfied: “Come to an agreement, there are those who want the Champions League and those who want the under 23s. We’re talking about guys like Vaz and Venturino, we need to come to an agreement or we’ll all be dissatisfied. I’m satisfied with the performance, these are difficult matches. I saw a strong team, this is Serie A. Then if Roma don’t go to the Champions League, we change the coach, a failed goal. I work with what I’m given. The market is closed, I didn’t think of having all these difficulties in inserting players in the key roles that we have been looking for for months. The difficulties have been many. Malen and Zaragoza have arrived and will give us a hand, then I have very young boys like Vaz and Venturino who represent the future, we cannot think they will be decisive for such high goals. Now we have to recover Koné and Dybala and we will continue on this path. This group doesn’t give up.”

too many injuries

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Finally, a joke after Conte’s complaints about too many matches played: “Matches are part of this system. If competitions increase there are more matches, for me the only negative aspect is injuries. Probably too many matches are a cause, but people and TV want this. Once upon a time there were fewer, but the percentage between matches and injuries was always the same. After that these are observations, there is no science that tells us otherwise.”