Roma chase another ‘miracle’
AS ROMA coach Eusebio Di Francesco says his team must aim for a “miracle” against Liverpool with the Italian club trailing 5-2 ahead of today’s Champions League semi-final second leg.
Roma came back from a 4-1 deficit in their quarter-final against Barcelona by winning the return leg in the Italian capital 3-0.
“We must have belief and with this mentality, with these fans and this passion around the team, try to perform another miracle – and saying miracle is perfectly fine,” Di Francesco told reporters yesterday.
“Liverpool are really dangerous and they can hurt you as soon as you give them an inch. I want to clarify one thing – in a Champions League semi-final in front of 70 000 people, do you expect a team just to yield?
“No, we’ve got to be a battling team who give all they can – then the game can end 4-1 either way, but what I want to see is enthusiasm and desire to go beyond the limits,” he said.
Roma have not conceded a goal at home in this year’s Champions League campaign.
“At home in Europe this season, we’ve only really struggled against Atletico Madrid,” Di Francesco said.
“Since then we’ve managed to contain our opponents and I hope it’s the same tomorrow. The passion of our fans should give us an extra push.”
Liverpool’s former Roma forward Mohamed Salah scored twice in the first leg and created two other goals as he ripped apart Di Francesco’s defence.
“Mohamed Salah has outstanding quality when they go long – but we can’t put three men on Salah. We’ve got to have the strength to put the right importance on our opponents, but also think of ourselves,” Di Francesco said, adding that his team needed a similar display from striker Edin Dzeko.
“The players have got to take responsibility – Dzeko even more so as one of the key players in this team. I hope he will be the man who – even more than Salah in the first leg – makes a difference in this game,” the Italian coach said.
“Our ambition should be to get to Kiev (for the final). I’ll try and treat this game like any other. I’ve passed on my ideas to the team and will convince them that this is achievable,” Di Francesco added.
Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan said the late goals the Serie A side scored at Anfield gave them hope.
“We managed to get two goals at the end which give us this hope of going through.
“We can’t make the same mistakes as the first leg and I think every one of us is aware of what we did there, and that we can’t repeat it here,” Nainggolan said.
“In games like these, they can hurt you in a flash – we’ve got to focus for 90 minutes and try to overturn the tie.
“We know it will be difficult but it was difficult against Barcelona and we did it.”
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp is confident that many of his top players will follow the example of striker Roberto Firmino and extend their stays at the Premier League club.
Brazil international Firmino, who has scored 27 goals and provided 16 assists in 50 games this season, has signed a longterm contract at the Merseyside club.
“It’s unbelievably important news for us. Really cool,” Klopp said.
“This is one very important step for us. Absolutely. But even Roberto cannot play alone.
“In the moment every player knows about our plans. He’s the first but for sure he won’t be the last.”
British media reported that new deals are in the pipeline for Liverpool forwards Sadio Mane and Salah along with defenders Ragnar Klavan and Alberto Moreno.
The goals of Salah, Firmino and Mane have helped Liverpool up to third in the league table and into the Champions League semi-finals.
They face AS Roma in the second leg today with a 5-2 advantagefrom the opening game at Anfield, in which Salah scored twice and set up two other goals, before a league trip to Chelsea on Sunday.
Mohamed Salah has been voted Player of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association (FWA) to complete the double of English soccer’s major individual awards.
Salah was chosen as player of the year by the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) after an outstanding season in which he has scored 43 goals in all competitions.
The 25-year-old is the first African player to win the FWA award which began in 1948.
Salah narrowly beat Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne in a ballot of over 400 FWA members, with the winning margin less than 20 votes. Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane was placed third.
“What a race it has been between two players who, in a relatively short time, have reached genuine world class. But Mo Salah is the worthiest of winners. He is also the first African to receive the award and we congratulate him on a magnificent season,” FWA Chairman Patrick Barclay said.
Salah will head to the World Cup in Russia in June to play for Egypt who have been drawn with the hosts, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay in Group A.
The inaugural FWA Women’s Footballer of the Year Award was won by Chelsea and England forward Fran Kirby who was also crowned PFA Women’s Player of the Year last month. – Reuters