Daniele De Rossi reaffirmed his confidence in his side’s chances of advancing to the next round of the Europa League.
In an interview with Roma TV, De Rossi discussed the stakes involved in tonight’s first leg of the Europa League playoffs with Feyenoord.
“There is great conviction in the path we are taking but also the awareness that we are facing a team that knows how to play football can bother us because they dribble very well. It’s a team we know, there are recent precedents in which we emerged victorious but they were always balanced games. The level is very similar but we have to play a great match.”
“In football there is always a psychological aspect, even when you play in the championship you remember the first leg. But then in the end the pitch speaks, you have to play football and what you do on the pitch decides whether we will move forward or not.”
“I am convinced that if we do our thing, as we did in the last match against Inter, we will advance to the next round.”
“We are also recovering some players who have been dealing with long-term injuries, like Chris [Smalling]. We always have to evaluate him day by day because the more we increase the loads and he can feel the flare-up, but it’s normal. Renato [Sanches] is also back from injury and we are managing him by always keeping an eye on him, Sardar [Azmoun] has returned from the Asian Cup and looks very lively. I spoke to Evan [Ndicka] on the phone and as soon as he has finished celebrating he will join us. I am happy with the overall condition of the team.”
