Paulo Fonseca praised Roma for “understanding how important it is” to keep possession after a 4-1 win at Fiorentina. “Lorenzo Pellegrini is very intelligent.”
Edin Dzeko, Pellegrini and Nicolò Zaniolo all contributed both a goal and assist this evening, along with Aleksandar Kolarov’s free kick.
Paulo Fonseca praised Roma for “understanding how important it is” to keep possession after a 4-1 win at Fiorentina. “Lorenzo Pellegrini is very intelligent.”
Edin Dzeko, Pellegrini and Nicolò Zaniolo all contributed both a goal and assist this evening, along with Aleksandar Kolarov’s free kick.
“I must say that I am very satisfied with the performance. It was a very important victory, we prepared well and did exactly what we had planned, which is not easy.
“Fiorentina played well against Inter, Juventus and Atalanta, but today we put in a very good performance,” the coach told Sky Sport Italia.
“I just look to the next match, that is always the most important. Over the last few months, we have done well, but at the end of the day we still have to improve, to learn and that means focusing on the next game.
“I still feel we can control the ball better, as we lost it cheaply at times. The evolution of this team is good, the players have confidence, they believe in our ideas and that is the most important thing for me.
“It’s not easy for a team in Italy to have a lot of possession, but the team is slowly understanding how important it is to have the ball and open up the passing channels. We are slowly changing the mentality of the players.”
Pellegrini has a €30m release clause, which is surely very low for someone who continues to churn out assists.
“He is a very intelligent player who looks for the right spaces, the right time to pass, and is so good at choosing the right option. It’s impressive, especially for one so young.”
Roma are now comfortably clear in fourth place after 10 wins, five draws and only two defeats.
“We have to be balanced in our evaluations. Just because we are in fourth place now, it doesn’t mean we’ve achieved anything or that everything is sorted out. We aren’t even halfway through the season.”
The January transfer window opens up next month, so will Roma be active?
“I said this is not an easy situation, so if we want a player to improve the squad, he has to be better than the ones we currently have, and that is not simple mid-season.”