Claudio Ranieri has noticed improvement from Artem Dovbyk and hopes Roma can finish this season “without regrets,” while humorously commenting on their missed chances.
“I told them they’re trying to take me to an early grave!”
The Giallorossi extended their impressive form with a seventh consecutive Serie A victory against Lecce, keeping them in the race for a Champions League qualifying spot. Despite wasting numerous scoring opportunities at the Stadio Via del Mare, they secured all three points thanks to Dovbyk’s goal ten minutes before the end of the match.
“We must always believe until the end. It was a challenging match, but the team was very focused from the start,” Ranieri told reporters. “We wasted two easy goals and then lost a careless ball in our final third, gifting them a chance. The second half was more hard-fought and less decisive, but the important thing was to win against a team fighting against relegation, which can be one of the toughest types of fixtures at this stage of the season.”
Earlier in the season, Dovbyk had struggled to adapt to Serie A, but he appears to be regaining his form. In the first half, there were also two significant missed opportunities: Angelino hit the side netting of an open goal, while Manu Kone fired a shot directly at the goalkeeper after recovering the ball inside the penalty area.
“Lecce likes to play out from the back with their goalkeeper, and we saw they struggled against aggressive teams, so I instructed our players not to give them time on the ball. We knew they were strong with crosses and set plays, as well as in quick transitions.”
Roma’s defense has been solid in recent matches, conceding only one goal during their seven-match winning streak, which was scored by Como. After a difficult start to the season, can Roma realistically aim for a Champions League spot?
