Romelu Lukaku insisted that ‘friendlies don’t really exist’ for Roma during his post-match interview following the Giallorossi’s 2-1 victory over Al-Shabab at the KSU Stadium in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday evening.
Daniele De Rossi and his squad took advantage of a nine-day break between Serie A matches for a warm-weather trip to Riyadh for a friendly against Al-Shabab on Wednesday.
Joao Costa put Roma ahead nine minutes into the second half, before an equaliser from former Atletico Madrid man Yannick Carrasco. Lukaku restored the Giallorossi’s lead six minutes from time.
Speaking to Roma’s internal media channels after full-time, Lukaku insisted that the team go out to win every game they take part in.
“It was important to win today. Friendlies don’t really exist for us, we want to win every game. Even in training we want to win,” Belgium’s all-time leading goalscorer said on Wednesday.
“Today was a good test to see where we’re at, and when we get back to Trigoria tomorrow, we have to prepare for a difficult match on Monday.”
Lukaku also revealed how the first few days of working under De Rossi have gone. The former Roma captain took charge of the club he represented for 18 years after the dismissal of Jose Mourinho on January 16.
“Really good,” Lukaku said when asked how life has been under De Rossi. He continued: “We’ve all got a responsibility to push Roma further up the table and get as far as possible in the Europa League.
“That’s our objective and we’re working hard for it every day.”
🎙️ Romelu Lukaku al termine dell’amichevole di Riyadh#ASRoma pic.twitter.com/GC2ICk3va3
— AS Roma (@OfficialASRoma) January 25, 2024