Chris Smalling spoke in the mixed zone to present media members following Roma’s 2-0 loss to Atalanta. These are his words:
What didn’t work today?
I think our intensify in the first half…it needs to be on the front foot. The second half we grew into the game but we didn’t start the first half well.
You come back from a long injury and played against Atalanta, who play like a Premier League side.
Tonight was my first competitive one of the season. I’ll get stronger by Sunday but I felt good. I was getting tired towards the end but I’ll build on this. It was a physical game today.
Did you guys work on a three-man defence during the week?
We did, we watch a lot of videos and work daily on our tactics so that we’re able to switch between a three or four man defence in the match. We’re prepared for all formations.
Did Fonseca say anything to you? You played well.
The manager speaks to everyone after the match but tomorrow we’ll assess the game and look forward to Sunday. We can’t get too disappointed because we’ve got another game.
