Claudio Ranieri tells Roma he is ‘not a young man’ and cannot be made to panic with that late Empoli chance, but identifies the moment their season changed against Tottenham.
The Giallorossi had the perfect start at the Stadio Castellani when Matias Soulé opened the scoring within 22 seconds, the fastest ever goal scored by the club in Serie A.
However, the result remained in the balance to the end, as Manu Kone, Eldor Shomurodov and Lorenzo Pellegrini all missed big chances.
It almost became very costly indeed, as Christian Kouame nodded inches wide with the last kick of the game.
“I am not a young man, you can’t keep me on the edge of my seat to the last second,” Ranieri joked on Sky Sport Italia.
The coach made nine changes to his starting XI from the side that beat Athletic Club 2-1 on Thursday in the Europa League Round of 16.
“We had to kill the game off earlier, these are matches you risk drawing. We came here with humility, as the second half of the season is tough for everyone, made even more difficult when we have European commitments.
“I chose lads who were hungry and fresh, ready to play. Now we can prepare for Athletic Club.”
Ranieri remembers where Roma season turned a corner
Shomurodov scored the last-gasp winner against Athletic Club on Thursday, but missed an open goal with Empoli when blasting onto the crossbar from a Pellegrini lay-off.
“Shomurodov is a wonderful guy, but he is not a hitman. He was very disappointed, but the important thing is to be in the right place at the right time. He has won many games for us doing that,” assured Ranieri.
“I liked the way the whole team played. I like to see practicality and not just style for its own sake, so playing well for me means winning games. When you have to score, you have to score.”
Roma have now won nine of their last 12 competitive matches, losing only the Coppa Italia quarter-final to Milan, as Ranieri has totally turned their season around.
“There are always things we can improve. They understood the basics, but there are still some details we need to work on.”
Mats Hummels returned to the starting XI after a couple of months of being left out, so how did he do?
“I liked him a lot,” replied Ranieri.
At what point did the season start truly turning around?
“The draw with Tottenham was very important. We needed to get some self-esteem back into this side, because it already had quality.
“I expected to do well, but not quite this well. When I get to work, I put my helmet on and go into battle, so the players must do the same.
“You judge horses on the final straight and I want to see what my lads can do,” concluded Ranieri.
