Roma manager Paulo Fonseca was pleased with his team’s 1-0 victory today over Genoa.
Even though the Giallorossi grabbed all three points, the Portuguese tactician admitted that his side’s performance against “il Grifone” was less than stellar.
“It wasn’t a brilliant match, but the most important thing was a victory. We didn’t have many goalscoring chances, though, neither did Genoa,” Fonseca explained to Sky Sport.
“We didn’t play as we normally do, especially in the first half. We were too slow and could have done much better. We have to keep fighting, but now we’ll worry about the Shakhtar match, which is going to be tough.”
When asked about the number of absences on the day, including Edin Dzeko, Fonseca seemed confident that the Bosnian will return soon.
“Edin returned to working on the pitch within the last couple of days. He’ll return to full training with the group in the new few days.”
He continued, “Borja Mayoral found it difficult today. Genoa stayed compact. He worked hard and created space for others, perhaps he could’ve done more with the ball but he worked hard for the team.”
“The same can be said for Cristante. He is always ready to make sacrifices for the team and play in whatever role I ask of him. These are the types of players that I like.”
Next up for Roma is Shakhtar Donetsk in the Europa League. They will host the Ukrainian side in the Italian capital on Thursday evening for the first leg of their tie.
