Eusebio Di Francesco singled out “lethal” Cengiz Under after Roma’s 3-2 win against Tottenham Hotspur but criticised Bruno Peres for “settling” too soon.
Cengiz got on the scoresheet as Roma beat Tottenham in the dying embers of their friendly on Tuesday, but while Di Francesco was impressed with the Turkish attacker, he felt Peres had lost focus towards the end, when Spurs had pulled two goals back.
“In the first 30 minutes, I really liked my team,” the Coach said after the game.
Eusebio Di Francesco singled out “lethal” Cengiz Under after Roma’s 3-2 win against Tottenham Hotspur but criticised Bruno Peres for “settling” too soon.
Cengiz got on the scoresheet as Roma beat Tottenham in the dying embers of their friendly on Tuesday, but while Di Francesco was impressed with the Turkish attacker, he felt Peres had lost focus towards the end, when Spurs had pulled two goals back.
“In the first 30 minutes, I really liked my team,” the Coach said after the game.
“It’s normal that it wasn’t possible for us to keep that pace up for the whole game.
“We had great possession and applied great pressure against a team that are used to doing well in the Premier League and Champions League.
“We did well to suffer during the middle part of the match, when we found two goals.
“I didn’t like how we were sloppy in some situations during the last few minutes, but overall I’m happy with the team’s growth: we improved so much in terms of movement.
“I saw a team that had to take their play more forward. we hurt Tottenham. Every time we did it.
“Obviously, you can’t expect a team to dominate for the entire 90 minutes. The last moments didn’t go well, and football has shown that games are always open.
“Defrel is growing physically, he played in a role that wasn’t his favourite and he wasn’t supplied like he should’ve been.
“Cengiz, like I’ve said before, is a lethal player, he just needs to improve the way he is on the pitch, but that’s normal.
“Kolarov was great for his technical quality and character. He tended to close down a little too much, but we’ve only just begun.
“Fifth centre-back? We’re evaluating it, but our priority is a right winger. For now, I’m satisfied with the players at my disposal.
“Florenzi and Karsdorp will both return shortly to make the team even more competitive, both in training and games. We can’t also forget El Shaarawy, who is currently training by himself.
“Closing the gap on Juventus? It’s too early to talk about this in July, but performances like these show conviction.
“Beyond the result, I liked our performance: even through suffering, this team never disunited.
“It’s a great start, but this mentality has to accompany us all the season, even in times of negativity.
“We chose Cengiz because he has great potential. I want to have two important players in every position.
“In order to aspire to something important, you must also have important players in reserve.
“We won’t judge him prematurely. He has important quality and we’ll try to make the most of it.
“Bruno Peres? His availability and application made the difference, but you mustn’t ever be settled.
“He’d already settled a bit by the 85th minute. You have to think about defending for 95 minutes.”