Sept 15 (Askume) – Roma coach De Rossi is confident his side can compete for the Serie A title despite a poor start to the season.
There was further disappointment for the team on Sunday, with Artem Dovbek’s first-half goal insufficient to secure the first three points of the season at Genoa, while Conny de Winter later added a header six minutes into added time for the hosts to level the scores.
Roma have three points from four games and are already five points behind leaders Juventus.
“I believe this is a team that has to challenge for the Champions League. That is our goal,” De Rossi told DAZN.
In the previous four seasons, Roma had failed to win their first four Serie A games.
De Rossi’s side have won just one of their last 11 games in all competitions. The manager was disappointed with Sunday’s result and was even sent off for dissent before the equaliser.
“We did what we wanted in the first half, forcing Genoa to push forward and keep the ball, so we must take advantage of those chances and score a second goal,” De Rossi said.
“We didn’t create anything in the second half. The statistics were in our favour, but if you dominate the first half, the second half shouldn’t be any different.”
Roma have added several players in recent transfer windows, including Ukrainian striker Dov Bik and Argentine winger Matias Sole , but have yet to find a breakthrough.
“We have carried out a strong transfer drive to strengthen the squad to achieve our objectives,” De Rossi said.
“Unfortunately, losing these points has had a huge impact on our position in the table and more importantly on our mood.”
