Roma recorded their second win in a row on Sunday by beating Verona 3-1 to maintain their unbeaten home record this season.
Going into the second half of the season in the top four, Roma knew they needed a big performance against a solid outfit who had frustrated them in the reverse meeting on the opening day.
Fortunately, a strong 10-minute period in the first half saw Roma go three goals up, courtesy of Gianluca Mancini, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Borja Mayoral.
The result moves Roma onto 40 points for the season and keeps them in third place, seemingly restoring the optimism at the club.
Head coach Paulo Fonseca was keen not to get carried away, but was pleased with what he saw.
On blitzing a tough defence
“I have to say that we scored those goals against the best defence in our league. It’s not easy to score three goals against a team like Hellas Verona, who are very aggressive and really strong.”
On team spirit
“The most important thing is to see that the team has responded well after the cup exit against Spezia. This win is a result of a real team spirit. The squad are growing in confidence as a result of the work they put in together.”
On the attention returning to the Scudetto
“I have to always stay balanced. A famous coach once said that every coach should always have their suitcase ready. And that’s how it is for us, that’s how it’s always been for me. I have always kept calm and focused on my work.”
On improving against the top sides
“A side has to believe if it wants to win against the top sides. We have had good moments against those sides, but not with consistency. We are working on the players’ heads to try and maintain that consistency.”
On playing well without Edin Dzeko
“The team is showing that it does not depend on any one player. We have a clear identity. There have been a lot of games where the players have changed and they have always responded well. It’s good to feel that we don’t depend on one individual.”
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