Radja Nainggolan spoke of his confidence ahead of Roma’s forthcoming matches, given the character the team showed in the 1-1 draw at Torino.
“I think the good times will return,” said the Belgian midfielder post-match. “We have belief in the squad, we’re a strong group and we’re just waiting to get back to winning ways.”
The Giallorossi midfielder started against Torino in his 86th Roma appearance, before being replaced by Willaim Vainqueur 20 minutes from time. The Giallorossi will be straight back to work tomorrow, as they build up to Wednesday’s match against BATE Borisov. A win would send Roma into the last-16 of the Champions League.
“Today we showed lots of desire and that’s the first thing you need to get results,” continued Nainggolan. “Good football comes after that. We have a Champions League match to prepare for on Wednesday, which will be tough, just as today’s game was. We have to approach it with the same desire and determination. We know we have to win to go through, so we’ll knuckle down and try to secure the points against BATE.”
Do you feel you threw away the win today?
“It wasn’t our best performance because their shape was good. We showed we were willing to fight and that’s the first thing you need. We took the lead from a free-kick but we should never have conceded that goal. We wouldn’t have drawn had the penalty not been given.”
Tactically, what caused Roma so many problems?
“As a team, I think we only had to deal with that first Torino chance after two minutes, from which Wojciech Szczęsny made a great save. We weren’t able to make the difference going forward, however. We know what the coach asks of us. He wants to press and be aggressive and a side like ours has to display that. There are parts of our game that aren’t coming off as much as they were earlier in the season but for now we’re just looking to find the right balance. No one would have mentioned any issues had we won 1-0 or 2-0 today because the defence did a great job. We’re on the right track and working on things. We just have to keep grafting to produce a flawless performance.”
Has the 6-1 loss to Barcelona had a psychological impact?
“A team like us is instantly criticised if we don’t win. Plus we were top at the start of the season. Now we’re struggling for goals a touch but we’re working hard to improve in this area. We were playing well up until a couple of games ago and things don’t just vanish overnight.”
Source: asroma.it