Luciano Spalletti admits Roma struggle when “the tension rises and you have it all to lose” after their comeback at Chievo. “I am in love with my players.”

The Flying Donkeys had twice taken the lead at the Bentegodi, but braces from Mohamed Salah and Stephan El Shaarawy, along with an Edin Dzeko screamer, snatched a 5-3 victory.

Luciano Spalletti admits Roma struggle when “the tension rises and you have it all to lose” after their comeback at Chievo. “I am in love with my players.”

The Flying Donkeys had twice taken the lead at the Bentegodi, but braces from Mohamed Salah and Stephan El Shaarawy, along with an Edin Dzeko screamer, snatched a 5-3 victory.

“When we are twice behind to Chievo, we risk conceding another when we pour forward. Here at times when the tension rises and you have it all to lose, you get swept up in the emotions and can’t play the way we usually do,” Spalletti told Mediaset Premium.

“Chievo played free from pressure, focused on their sudden counters and the strikers who are trained very well to work together, one goes short and the other long. They are one of the most dangerous sides in the penalty area and we were not ready in some situations.

“We conceded both goals from crosses that should’ve been closed down. You can risk losing your balance when trying to recover from a goal down and Chievo are so well-organised, so well-drilled, they can make the most of that.”

Roma beat Juventus 3-1 last week to keep the Scudetto race alive, yet almost threw it away against a mid-table team.

“There are times during a campaign when you work so hard to create the crucial moment that you risk falling when you actually get there.

“We had the chance to recreate our happiness on a sporting level, we managed it and now it really is all up to us. We’ll have the final game at home, in front of our fans and there will be this big party atmosphere to salute the squad. It’ll be tough for anyone against us in those circumstances.”

Spalletti was again asked about his future and how to evaluate the entire campaign.

“Clearly if we take comments from 10 weeks ago and put it here, that doesn’t fit. What I said yesterday? That was before today’s game…

“A goal changes everything, the team becomes incredible, and then turns into flops, or so people would tell you. The players lost some terrible matches, we took the situation in hand and fought to recreate our sporting happiness, to recreate the opportunity to get here.

“Look at the teams elsewhere who don’t get to finish second in their leagues? Manchester United, Manchester City, etc. You can’t say that finishing third becomes a failure.”

Dzeko consolidated his Capocannoniere status with his 28th Serie A goal of the campaign, a far cry from last term’s criticism.

“Dzeko is an extraordinary person who suffered when he couldn’t score goals. He came to me and said he couldn’t understand certain things, including why he was attacked in such a gratuitous way.

“He started to show his quality over time and proved he is the complete centre-forward. He’s good in the air, can hold up the ball, is surprisingly fast – there are few strikers of his size who are that fast, as you think with a run from midfield you’ll catch him, but you can’t.

“Stephan had an exceptional season, because he got very few games wrong when called into action.

“I am in love with my players, because it was a tough year and we said truths to each other, which I think created a wonderful rapport. Of course, you’d have to ask them, because they might not agree!”

Leave a Reply

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

Tickets Kit Collector