Roma defender Chris Smalling admitted his side never envisioned the predicament they find themselves in ahead of tonight’s Europa League clash versus HJK Helsinki.
The Giallorossi currently sit third in Group C with 4 points, three behind second-placed Ludogorets, who lost earlier today against Real Betis.
“Honestly we didn’t envision being in this situation,” he confessed to Sky Sport before kick-off.
“However, we know if we win tonight then the next game that we’ll progress so everything depends entirely on us.”
The Englishman was also asked about playing on Helsinki’s synthetic pitch compared to a natural surface.
“It’s very unpredictable but we can’t use the pitch as an excuse. We know what we’ve got to do in order to win.”
