Chivu: "This side is showing signs of maturity"

“We celebrated a lot at 3-1 because that's exactly what we discussed at halftime. The approach to the second half was to put the game to bed and we scored two goals soon after coming back out. This side is showing signs of maturity, as always. It’s true that in recent matches we may have had moments where we were a bit too cautious, which we shouldn’t have been. Today, though, we came back out with the right mindset, to be dominant and see the game out. Pressing against Roma is not easy. They stretch your midfield, with one holding midfielder dropping into the build-up while the other drifts wide. They create width with their wing-backs and attacking midfielders. We were worried about the ball into Malen, Calhanoglu was sitting a bit too deep and found it hard to close down Pisilli. In the second half we showed more courage, broke the lines, and moved the ball quicker. Our playmaker pushed higher too, which helped us disrupt their possession. At times in the first half we lacked a bit of aggression, with some runs a bit slow. Against a team like Roma, with that kind of movement, that can be dangerous. We raised the tempo, fought harder for the ball, and played a really strong second half. I’m thrilled to have Lautaro Martinez back, to see Thuram with a goal and two assists, Barella scoring, and Dumfries putting in an excellent second half. The same goes for Luis Henrique, Diouf, Frattesi, and everyone else who didn’t get on the pitch. We are responsible for what happens in football: coaches, players, fans, social media, journalists. Criticism sells, and people love to focus on the negative. Football should always be a game first, starting with the Youth Sector, where I spent so much time. We need to make a lot of changes in this game that makes fans fall in love - the real fans, not the ones who just moan and complain. ”