Roma boss Eusebio Di Francesco has urged Patrik Schick ‘not to stop now’ after the striker scored his first goal of the season against Sampdoria.
Injuries and a loss of form had prevented Schick from delivering on the €42m Roma shelled out to make him their club-record signing, but the Czech netted during the Giallorossi’s 4-1 victory over Sampdoria on Sunday.
Roma boss Eusebio Di Francesco has urged Patrik Schick ‘not to stop now’ after the striker scored his first goal of the season against Sampdoria.
Injuries and a loss of form had prevented Schick from delivering on the €42m Roma shelled out to make him their club-record signing, but the Czech netted during the Giallorossi’s 4-1 victory over Sampdoria on Sunday.
“The results have shown that there’s a Roma for Serie A and a Roma for the Champions League,” Di Francesco said during the Panchina d’Oro ceremony at Coverciano.
“We’re growing. Yesterday I saw a Roma team who bossed their match and knew how to kill it off.
“We’re lagging behind in the table. We deserve a few more points, but if we’re where we are then it’s because we haven’t done everything we had to do.
“We have to close the gap on the sides above us. Right now, Juve are having their own campaign.
“Napoli are managing to stay in pursuit of them, but with Juve’s consistency it’s hard to keep up.
“Cristante has grown in the last two games, adapting to the role of a deeper-lying midfielder. He’s shown great willingness to sacrifice.
“We don’t really have a ‘regista’. De Rossi has some ‘regista’-like characteristics, but he’s not available right now.
“Schick has started over and mustn’t stop now. He has to be in better condition and he knows he has to do it by training in a certain way.
“He knows he has to improve on this, but I’m glad he's made the breakthrough with goals, which are vital for any striker.
“I don’t know if we can make another Champions League semi-final. We always try to improve, but it’s not easy to repeat.
“There are some really good teams in the competition. We have one in Italy and it’s Juventus, but we’re showing ourselves to be competitive in the group stage.”