Head coach of Italian "Roma" Daniele De Rossi, commenting on the defeat from "Empoli" (1:2) in yesterday's match of the 2nd round of the Italian championship, touched on the role in the game of his team its Ukrainian striker Artem Dovbik.
"We lacked intensity today, especially in the first half. The ball went slowly, we always played backwards, almost never went forward. And when we play vertical soccer, as I planned for today's match, we are quite dangerous, and Dovbik in these conditions turns out to be close to sending the ball into the opponent's goal.
"Empoli deserved their advantage in the first half. We need to play fast. That's how you have to play in modern soccer. And I must be able to choose those who will be able to realize this model.
We also need to play differently on Dovbik. We need to get balls to him up top, in space and support him when he is in the opponent's penalty area: if Dovbik is there alone, it becomes impossible for him to do anything with the ball. Especially when he has his back to the goal, in the last 16 meters," De Rossi said after the match against Empoli.
P.S. В прошлом сезоне, когда тренером ещё был Моуринью, Рома выиграла у Эмполи в домашней игре со счётом 7:0.