Rudi Garcia was pleased with Wojciech Szczesny’s Roma debut, but “there was nothing friendly” about Sporting CP.

“Obviously it’s a step forward in terms of achieving the right fitness levels,” the Coach told Roma TV after a 2-0 defeat in Lisbon.

“Next week Sporting will play a very important Super Cup against Benfica, so they are already in good shape and for the moment Roma are not.

Rudi Garcia was pleased with Wojciech Szczesny’s Roma debut, but “there was nothing friendly” about Sporting CP.

“Obviously it’s a step forward in terms of achieving the right fitness levels,” the Coach told Roma TV after a 2-0 defeat in Lisbon.

“Next week Sporting will play a very important Super Cup against Benfica, so they are already in good shape and for the moment Roma are not.

“It’s not an alibi, as we could’ve done better and suffered under their pressing. In terms of defence we didn’t struggle too much in the first half and it was a shame we conceded that goal from a set play.

“It’s a pity, as we had the best chance when it was still 0-0 with the captain. We didn’t have the explosive pace or the speed of passing that we usually do, so because of the fitness levels couldn’t play the way we wanted to. We did it for 18 months and that is the way we intend to play in future.”

Turkish midfielder Salih Ucan was given his third start of the summer, having been ignored for most of last season.

“Salih has improved a lot over the last year. He no longer has physical problems and is gaining confidence, so I am very happy. He has the talent, he’s getting better physically, so with time he can give us a big hand.”

Ex-Arsenal shot-stopper Szczesny made his debut in goal for the second half after Morgan De Sanctis started.

“I liked Szczesny, as we know he can help build moves from the back. He made two or three great saves, but could do nothing on the two goals.

“I won’t forget Morgan had a great first half and we are fortunate to have two great goalkeepers. All big clubs have two great goalkeepers and with Wojciech’s arrival we are solid.”

Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa was shown a straight red card in stoppages, but even before then there were scuffles and crunching tackles.

“There was nothing friendly about this game! We knew it would be like that in a full stadium on Sporting’s night of presenting the team to their fans.

“I went to the referee because I knew after 15 minutes I’d replace those on yellow cards, so if there was a problem it was better for the official to just tell me there was danger and I’d replace them. In the end we still got a red card.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tickets Kit Collector