“We played against one of the strongest teams in Europethey have options to do everything, both playing short and long, so even on a defensive level this puts you in a lot of difficulty, because as soon as you go to press them they launch long and as soon as you leave them space they start to phrase. We tried, but unfortunately we know that as soon as you concede half a mistake these teams will hurt you, as happened last year with PSG.” Elena LinariRoma’s central defender, spoke like this last night in the mixed zone after the defeat against Lyon in the Women’s Champions League: “We played against one of the strongest teams in Europe. They have options to do everything. We also had opportunities in the first half to hurt them and do a little more, and maybe that’s what we’re missing. As mentioned before, being able to give your best is fundamental against these teams. – continues Linari as reported Vocegiallorossa.it – We’re sorry because in my opinion the team played well, sacrificing themselves from the first to the last minute. Against these teams you need 110-120%, which today probably meant being able to score“.
How do you counter the physicality of the Lyon players?
“You have to play with it mentally, because if you go for physicality against players like Dumornay, Diani and Chawinga you can do it, but you never get it. We have to be honest, just think about how Thogersen is one of the fastest players in Serie A and today she struggled. It’s normal to struggle against these players, both technically and physically. This is why the approach must be mental. You must always stay on track and not give even an inch. We need to make better use of possession and have the mentality of a great team in managing the ball, which is something we lacked a bit today.”
The derby is on Sunday. Do you think you can recover Juventus?
“Currently Juve has something more, but we also have something less, in the sense that we know we made mistakes in the first two games against Lazio and Sassuolo, so I think there is a desire to demonstrate who we really are. We want to win the derby at home to ensure that Rome is yellow-red. However, we are holding on to this performance because when you play internationally you always manage to put that little bit extra into it, something that sometimes we fail to do in the championship. We have to start from this performance because 100% is no longer enough even in the championship. All the teams against us play at 200%, given that we have won the Scudetto and the Italian Cup and in the last two years we have shown that we are a very strong team.”