Roma are not even halfway through the tour de force which will see them busy in the next two weeks with Napoli, Juventus, Atalanta and the two semi-finals of the Europa League in between. But the watchword in Trigoria is already one: management. Daniele De Rossi, in fact, proceeds step by step, without already thinking about the cup with the risk of presenting himself with the wrong attitude to Maradona. In the meantime, however, they also enjoyed the flash victory in Udine’s recovery thanks to Cristante’s late goal. Three fundamental points in the race for the Champions League, which this year has been extended to fifth place, because they allow the Giallorossi to lead Atalanta by 4 points despite the Bergamo players still having the match against Fiorentina to recover. However, this does not take away the good work done so far by De Rossi since the day of his arrival. In thirteen games, in fact, he has won the same points as José Mourinho in the previous 20 games. To this, then, we add the passage of the round in Europe against Feyenoord, Brighton and Milan, for numbers that have earned the coach confirmation for the next seasons too. “But the boys would have overcome the difficulties even without me,” De Rossi said yesterday, avoiding comparisons with the past.
He wants to stay focused on the present which is currently called Naples. A present that brings with it some difficulties because Smalling was forced out in Udine due to a groin problem, while Romelu Lukaku continues to carry out personalized work due to the muscle problem suffered against Milan. If the Englishman is already certain not to leave for Naples, Big Rom will carry out an audition tomorrow to see if he can at least be called up. The one who is back available, however, is Ndicka, back in the group from today after the slight pneumothorax problem that had scared everyone almost two weeks ago. Good news for De Rossi, the Ivorian’s recovery because Smalling’s knockout and Llorente’s disqualification significantly shorten the Roma team. However, it is unlikely that he will be able to start from the beginning with the obligatory pair of central defenders which will be made up of Mancini and Hujisen. Last doubts also in attack where the Giallorossi coach is studying how much playing time to give to Dybala because a few days later there will be the first leg against Bayer and the Argentine’s strengths will also be needed there. The idea, for the moment, is to start him from the beginning, planning a relay with Baldanzi. But only tomorrow during the finishing process will the final reservations be resolved, as well as those linked to the use of Tammy Abraham in the run-off with Sardar Azmoun.
