Eusebio Di Francesco claims Roma’s glass is “half full” after their defeat to Juventus as “I still expect a lot more from this team.”
Roma lost to Juve on penalties in their final International Champions Cup game but leave the US without any defeats in normal time, having endured the same outcome against Paris Saint-Germain and beaten Tottenham Hotspur.
“We started very well and created a couple of important chances, knowing that Juve were very dangerous,” the Coach said after the game.
Eusebio Di Francesco claims Roma’s glass is “half full” after their defeat to Juventus as “I still expect a lot more from this team.”
Roma lost to Juve on penalties in their final International Champions Cup game but leave the US without any defeats in normal time, having endured the same outcome against Paris Saint-Germain and beaten Tottenham Hotspur.
“We started very well and created a couple of important chances, knowing that Juve were very dangerous,” the Coach said after the game.
“After a while, however, we lowered our centre of gravity and we stopped being aggressive.
“In the last 15-20 minutes of the first half, we did very little going forward and allowed Juve to find their shape with ease: I didn’t like that much.
“Still, I’m glad we stayed in the match until the end, this is the most important thing.
“After the restart, the squad grew and were much more forward-thinking, but [the game] showed we still needed to improve on certain aspects.
“I’d say the glass is half full because there have been some positive things, just like there have been others where we could’ve done much better.
“I remind everyone, however, that we’ve only worked together for a bit and it clearly takes some time for them to understand certain mechanisms.
“Through the difficulties, we didn’t lose sight of the game, we didn’t fall apart and we kept the game balanced: that was the most important thing.
“We also did a bit more in the second half. want a team that know how to control games but also knows how to be forward-thinking.
“The stats say that in the first half, we did too little with respect to the latter.
“Peres did well, Cengiz always tried to hurt them. Peres grew a lot defensively and responded to my demands in the best way possible, as did Fazio.
“In the second half, I liked how Gonalons played. De Rossi wasn’t feeling well in the first half and couldn’t do much.
“Up top, Dzeko was always important and dangerous, especially when the ball went into the box.
“Cengiz? He came on when they all chose to be more incisive. I like him as a player because he tries to hurt his opponents.
“He’s young, he’s a good attacker, but it’s too early to pass judgment on him.
“We’re at the end of July, I’m happy with our overall growth but I still expect a lot more from this team.
“I think Monchi has already replied to the market’s demands. Manolas has the desire to stay and the Coach and club have the desire to keep him.
“He’s trained alone because he picked up a shoulder problem against Tottenham, but I think he’ll be back as soon as we return to Rome.”