After a 2-2 draw today at the Stadio Olimpico against Stefano Pioli's Fiorentina, Roma now sits in the seventh spot with 48 points; this puts them level in the standings with Atalanta, Lazio (a game in hand), and Torino. The goals were scored by German Pezzella, Nicolo Zaniolo, Gerson, and Diego Perotti - in other words, Roma never took the lead in this match, however, it was a better performance from Claudio Ranieri's men. In the post-match, the Giallorossi manager spoke to Sky Sport.
"At this very moment, when we are not doing very well, playing like we did today against a very good Fiorentina is ok; we were worried not to give them to much space. It is too bad to concede a goal off of a corner kick - this is simply carelessness that has cost us dearly since we planned to mark their strong headers of the ball. However, I liked the team today for their pride and reaction. It is not easy to be in our shoes, especially today: I was pleased with the reaction to twice going behind but coming back - I think the fans can be happy. Zaniolo and Kluivert? Very good kids. I trust Justin; he is still immature but I needed to cover Cristiano Biraghi and he did it very well."
"Zaniolo? He still needs to improve, but he is devastating when he is moving with the ball going forward in an attacking midfielder role. Schick? He is a great player, but he is too timid... He has to conquer this shyness - I expect a great deal from him. The condition of Santon? We are working and are being attentive to everyone. Even Perotti picked up a problem with his bicep and we hope it’s nothing serious. It’s incredible, we get one player back from injury and immediately lose two more...”
