Eusebio Di Francesco says Roma “have to win” against his former side Sassuolo tomorrow night.
The Giallorossi lost to Juventus before Christmas, a result which leaves them seven points behind Serie A leaders Napoli, albeit with a game in hand.
“There are still two matches to play [before the winter break] the one we didn’t play [Sampdoria away] has had a big impact on the table,” Di Francesco pointed out in his pre-match Press conference.
Eusebio Di Francesco says Roma “have to win” against his former side Sassuolo tomorrow night.
The Giallorossi lost to Juventus before Christmas, a result which leaves them seven points behind Serie A leaders Napoli, albeit with a game in hand.
“There are still two matches to play [before the winter break] the one we didn’t play [Sampdoria away] has had a big impact on the table,” Di Francesco pointed out in his pre-match Press conference.
“We’ve done excellent things, we’ve grown a lot but we still lack something to be competitive from every point of view. That should just encourage us to do even better though.
“We need to bring solidity to the pitch and overcome this period where we create chances but don't score, the Juventus game being a perfect example of that.
“The clash in Turin was emblematic, but we have to respond on the pitch. I hope we could even create a lot less but score like we did in the past.
“I’ve had difficult spells at Roma, especially away from home, but I think we did something extraordinary in the Champions League.
“We’re in the hunt in the league, so we’re on the right track. Obviously to bounce back we need to win, my strength is taking defeats in the right way and using them to improve.
“That’s happened with some wins too, not all of them came in the way I’d have liked. Grinding out wins can give you confidence though, and tomorrow we have to win, no matter who the opponent is.
“To win you have to learn from others, we need that competitive ruthlessness that we haven’t always shown but which Juventus had for the first hour of the previous match.”
Di Francesco was asked if he’s considering changing his formation, having customarily deployed a 4-3-3 this term.
“The system of play depends on the characteristics of the players. In Turin it was 4-2-4. I rarely use 4-2-3-1, but I did that [4-2-4] because we’ve had difficulty in scoring so I tried to put people who know how to score in.
“We’re not going to throw away the players or the formation just because we lost two games. We can use 4-3-3 or 4-2-4, I don’t much like 4-2-3-1.
“I could change the formations to improve the team, even if its results which ultimately make the difference. [Patrik] Schick will play tomorrow, we’ll see about the other 10.”