After Roma ended 2018 on a high with a 2-0 win away to Parma, coach Eusebio Di Francesco called on his forward players to deliver a greater share of the goals in the new year.
The Giallorossi picked up what was only their third away win of the campaign and their first since early October thanks to second half goals from Bryan Cristante and Cengiz Under.
Despite the fact that they continue to share the goals around and have had an eye-catching 16 different scorers in the league this season, Di Francesco wants the likes of Edin Dzeko and co. in attack to deliver more goals on a regular basis.
“At the moment, we don’t have a forward like a Cristiano Ronaldo who can give us 15 goals in the middle of a season,” the Giallorossi boss admitted afterward.
“I like the team to score goals and everyone to play their part but it is clear that I would prefer a few more goals from the forwards, although in cases like this, it is good to have players like Cristante who can give us a hand in that sense.”
Di Francesco also acknowledged that relying on so much youth in his side will have certain drawbacks but he is pleased with the progress that his younger players are making.
“When you choose a younger team, you know that you will go through some difficult games. I put [Nicolo] Zaniolo in because he is a big talent and saw important qualities in him but today, for example, he put in a performance that was below expectations,” he added.
“He needs to grow up and develop, as they all do when they come through the difficult games it helps that. I have seen the same growth in [Justin] Kluivert, Under and [Lorenzo] Pellegrini, who is a real leader for me when he is on the field.”
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com