Europa League: Juric lauds Roma for a ‘much-deserved’ victory

AS Roma manager Ivan Juric has praised his team for securing a victory against Dynamo Kyiv in the Matchday Three of their Europa League campaign.

The capital club secured maximum points courtesy of a first-half Artem Dovbyk penalty.

Having played well against Inter over the weekend but lost 1-0, the Giallorossi upped their game against their visitors, who were in dire need of a boost after one point from two Europa League games.

Dynamo Kyiv is even further down the pecking order in the standings, having lost both UEFA matches, including 3-0 to Lazio.

Roma maintained possession of the ball for a long period. This finally paid off when Taras Mykhavko dragged back Tommaso Baldanzi for a penalty. Artem Dovbyk stepped up and calmly converted to give Roma the lead.

After Baldanzi drilled his shot wide from a distance,  Eduardo Guerrero failed to keep his header on target.

There was a sigh of relief for the hosts after Enzo Le Fee got away with a horrible back-pass because Oleksandr Tymchyk’s angled drive skimmed the base of the far post.

Dynamo had the ball in the net when Denys Popov managed to tap in from close range, but it was chalked off after he had wandered into an offside position.

Roma had the opportunity to take the game beyond their opponent on 84 minutes after a wonderful team move involving first-touch passes between Pellegrini and Dybala sent Shomurodov clear, but the Uzbekistan international somehow swept it wide from 10 yards undisturbed.

Roma have garnered four points from three rounds in the Europa League table.

Juric also praised his side for managing the match ‘very well’ and described 20-year-old Nicolò Pisilli as an ‘incredible talent’ as the Giallorossi ended a three-game winless streak and returned to winning ways.

This was also the first of their European campaign this season.

This is expected to boost their confidence as Juric believes the hosts alternated positive moments with phases in which they lacked ‘self-confidence.’

The former Torino manager also highlighted the moments in which he liked the team, noting that they lacked a bit of certainty and self-confidence.

Juric further stated that it was a deserved victory, considering the chances created, shots on goal, and corners, amongst other things. 

“I think that in the closing minutes, by sitting deeper and creating numerical superiority at the back, we managed it very well. Our aggressivity was very good, but it was not the first time,” he added.