Roma midfielder Nemanja Matic cited his team’s defensive organisation after they won 1-0 against Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final.
The veteran played all 90 minutes and helped the Giallorossi secure a win ahead of next week’s return leg in Germany.
“I’m doing my best to help the team. Given where we’re at in the season, we have injury problems and several of our most important players aren’t available that we need,” the Serbian told Sky Sport.
“Nonetheless, I’m here to help with my experience. I followed Roma even before I came here and agreed to join the club.”
He continued, “I didn’t do so because I expected us to play a certain way or play ultra-defensively. We defend when needed and try to score goals in attack like the one from tonight.”
“Sometimes we have trouble finding the back of the net, but when you’re playing a team like Bayer Leverkusen it’s very important to defend well.”
