Daniele De Rossi hailed his ‘heroic’ Roma side following their 2-2 Europa League draw with Bayer Leverkusen. The Giallorossi held a 2-0 lead going into the dying minutes of the game thanks to a brace of Leandro Paredes’ penalties, only to be pegged back 2-2 with 7 minutes left. Speaking to Sky Sport Italia (via Romapress) after the match, De Rossi reflected on the Giallorossi’s performance and explained why Paulo Dybala didn’t feature in the match:
“We played a heroic match. First half very good but we didn’t shoot a bit. The boys played an incredible game. Tonight they put in a great match of physical and mental effort. When you come close to a miracle, the goal hurts. But we start again from this spirit here.”
“Sunday’s match with Atalanta will take a lot out of us. We have lost Spinazzola and many will be tired. We will have to be ready. Atalanta is very strong and we will have to be ready.”
“In every game I learn something. We followed a path that happened to Roma 5 times. I have to thank the guys and I learned why my job isn’t just in the 90 minutes. Today we faced a stronger team and today we need to shake their hand.”
“Dybala? He’s still got an icepack on his leg. He has no serious injuries, but could only come on under certain occasions.”
