Gian Piero Gasperini expressed some reservations regarding the “avoidable” penalty conceded against OGC Nice, stressing that while Roma secured a 2-1 victory in the Europa League, the team “must rapidly learn from these errors.”
The Giallorossi commenced their Europa League campaign on a positive note, triumphing 2-1 at the Allianz Riviera over Nice. Despite holding more possession as the away team, it took until the second half for them to break the deadlock with two goals in quick succession—within three minutes—from defenders Evan N’Dicka and Gianluca Mancini.
A late penalty converted by Terem Moffi, resulting from Nicolò Pisilli`s unnecessary foul on Antoine Mendy, created a tense finish to the match.
“We have played several matches, and it`s certainly true that we possess a robust defense that limits opponents` shots on target,” Gasperini stated to Sky Sport Italia. “The penalty was a naive error, as the ball was already heading out of play. I feel for Pisilli, but these are top-tier games, and players need to swiftly absorb lessons from such mistakes.”
He continued, “It was a high-level performance overall, but the issue lies in how we manage the concluding stages of matches. Those introduced from the bench do not always bring the necessary energy and resolve to make a significant impact. It’s not solely a matter of mentality, but we require a bit more, as games are now frequently decided in the final minutes.
“In contemporary football, you can utilize four or five substitutions to inject fresh energy and secure results, yet we found ourselves struggling towards the end today.”
Gasperini Aims to Elevate Roma Squad`s Overall Level
Lorenzo Pellegrini, who had not featured this season until starting the Derby della Capitale—where he scored the decisive goal against Lazio—made an appearance from the bench in this match. His corner kick expertly set up N’Dicka’s header.
“Pellegrini undoubtedly possesses exceptional technical abilities; his corner was superb. However, he hadn`t fully recovered from Sunday’s extraordinary effort. Having been sidelined for many months, he was understandably struggling more with his stamina today.”
Remarkably, this was the first time all season that Roma scored more than one goal, with both coming from central defenders. Gasperini addressed the question of when his strikers would start finding the net.
“It’s not exclusively about the strikers; it pertains to the entire attacking movement of the team. Dovbyk is regaining his fitness, and we must collectively improve our build-up play, the final pass, and create opportunities for our forwards to be dangerous.
“We need to comprehensively assess our attacking phase. It`s unfair to single out the centre-forwards.”
Kostas Tsimikas made his inaugural start for Roma and provided the assist for Mancini’s goal.
“With such a dense fixture list, we have Tsimikas and Angelino on the left, both reliable players with comparable attributes. Tsimikas had also been out for several months, requiring time to get back. I will need to rotate them, as they are not particularly versatile, but I have immense faith in both,” Gasperini explained.
Although there was some squad rotation, with Tsimikas and Neil El Aynaoui starting, the coach reaffirmed his focus on the established core group.
“Football is dynamic; it only takes a moment to alter the course of a game. We must ensure we secure the result. The penalty was an avoidable incident, but generally, we have a very solid and competitive core of players. Therefore, we need more of the other players to step up and reach the consistent level demonstrated by our main group this season,” Gasperini concluded.
