Roma striker Andrea Belotti has admitted that he felt his side were going to find an equaliser last night because AC Milan took their foot off the gas in the second half.
Milan secured a very important three points at San Siro on Sunday night, beating Roma 3-1 to consolidate third place. It was Yacine Adli who got things started as he scored his first goal for the club with a very well-taken goal.
The advantage was doubled through Olivier Giroud early in the second half, as he had the simple task of heading in from close range after Simon Kjaer’s nod back across goal, but then a Leandro Paredes penalty halved the deficit.
Theo Hernandez’s rocket in off the crossbar in the final 10 minutes to seal the win, and the result means that the Rossoneri took advantage of Bologna and Fiorentina’s slip-ups while also moving 13 points above Roma.
Belotti spoke at a post-match press conference after the final whistle last night, given that Jose Mourinho was unavailable after serving a touchline ban. His words were transcribed by MilanNews.
Roma changed when you came on…
“Certainly when I came on we were a little more unbalanced going forward, at 2-0 it was the only way to reopen the match and then create some opportunities.
“The third goal then broke our legs. In the first half we didn’t start badly, but then if you don’t score a goal it’s normal for there to be frustration.”
Is there a hierarchy to who takes penalties?
“There is a pre-established choice that the coach decides before the matches, Paredes was the designated one.”
What are Roma lacking?
“When you start well and concede a goal it’s normal to be disappointed, we took it at the first opportunity. It’s a matter of small details, we’re working on it individually and as a group.”
Do you feel the weight of the situation?
“On the pitch, certainly when you lose matches it’s never good, there’s always frustration and disappointment. It can happen that in a match you find it difficult to do simple things.
“But I repeat: we started well, we conceded a goal on the first shot of Milan and there was frustration. My feeling from the pitch is that one way or another we would have equalised at 2-1, Milan weren’t doing anything anymore, but then with the third goal…”
The fans told you to give more…
“There isn’t a player who doesn’t feel in difficulty with our fans. The fans follow us everywhere. It’s normal that they too can boo because we’re not winning matches. The only thing we can do is unite and work. The Roma fans deserve much, much more.”
Wishful thinking. Asides from that penalty it was Roma that wasn’t convincing. Milan had other chances even after it.
Milan were not doing anything besides scoring 3 goals and preventing Roma from scoring more than once. 😎
If not stupid thing from Calabria, you would have not chance at all to be in the game.
Milan was controlling the game with shots of Pellegrini from the distance being the only treath.