Mehdi Benatia sees Roma's 7-1 loss to Bayern Munich as a ‘one-off’, and speaks on the differences between Italian and German football.
The Morocco was a pillar of the Giallorossi's defence last season before being sold to Bayern Munich for €26m in a flurry of controversy.
However, the defender silenced his critics when his new team crushed Roma in the Champions League group stage, even if he claims he is not bitter.
“I left many friends in Rome,” Benatia has said in an interview with Sky Sport Italia.
Mehdi Benatia sees Roma's 7-1 loss to Bayern Munich as a ‘one-off’, and speaks on the differences between Italian and German football.
The Morocco was a pillar of the Giallorossi's defence last season before being sold to Bayern Munich for €26m in a flurry of controversy.
However, the defender silenced his critics when his new team crushed Roma in the Champions League group stage, even if he claims he is not bitter.
“I left many friends in Rome,” Benatia has said in an interview with Sky Sport Italia.
“Last year we could have won the Scudetto, but we crossed paths with a very strong Juventus team that deserved their title.
“I hope for all of the supporters and the club – that works very hard – that this year they are able to win the title.”
Benatia also believes that the 7-1 result against Bayern was more down to coincidence than to anything else.
“That game just went like that, it was a random result and I'm convinced that if we played another 10 times against Roma, it would never end with that score.”
The defender was asked to describe the differences between Italian and German football.
“In Italy people think first and foremost about defending themselves, even though in [Coach Rudi] Garcia's Roma things were not like that.
“In the Bundesliga, instead, even the smaller teams come to Munich looking to win and play their game.”
Benatia’s current teammate Xherdan Shaqiri has been linked with Roma, but the former Giallorosso took a stand against the transfer.
“I like Shaqiri as a person and as a player. He hasn't been given much space in Bayern so far, but he's a great player, he's young, and I hope he'll stay with us.”