A good walk.

We have (little) time for budgets. Roma between the Europa League and Serie A made 12 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses. It is a pretty good budget. I don't use enthusiastic tones because the opponents in EL were very few. In the championship we made 8 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses, if we count the defeat with Verona (unfair). The walk is good for the Champions zone (minimum goal), but for me we have a team that must aim to be first in Serie A (currently we are -7 from Milan) and to win the Europa League, where there are strong opponents like the English teams , the Germans and the Spaniards, but first of all we have to overcome the Sporting Club de Braga.

The defense problem is a mental problem. In the last 5 games, even when She won, Roma have conceded at least one goal, this shows that we have a problem mainly on a defensive level.

It is certainly not a tactical problem, Roma already play with 3 central defenders. Some young but well-made.

Perhaps it is a problem of interpreters: you could play with better players in the defensive phase and in the recovery of the ball (I am thinking for example of Cristante as a midfielder or as an offensive midfielder and Villar or Pellegrini as offensive midfielders).

Certainly in the last few games we have had some long periods of the game in which we took a nap especially in the construction against the pressing, so we have to train concentration, getting used to playing carefully, putting more effort into training.

If we have problems in building against pressing, let's remember that pressing is a short blanket and we can throw long on Dzeko, who is almost invincible in this phase, or on the other forwards.

Roma are third in Serie A. We set ourselves the goal at the start of the championship of 41 points at the halfway point to be able to exceed 80 points at the end of the season. We can reach 40 points (41 if they give us the Verona point, unjustly removed). It will be essential to win in this period, which is often negative for us. January and February will tell us whether we will be as dangerous as wolves in the woods or as limp as boiled fish. We must always aim to win. Hitting when the opponent is in trouble or settling for a draw if we don't see the possibility of victory. In general, we have the possibility to win with any opponent, starting with the next matches with Sampdoria, Crotone and Inter. Let's put it in our head. Daje Roma!

Giordano Sepi