New Delhi [India], April 19 : AS Roma coach Daniele De Rossi hailed Stephan El Shaarawy for his remarkable performance against AC Milan in the second leg of the UEL quarter-finals at the Stadio Olimpico, Italy.
AS Roma emerged victorious with a 2-1 win in the second leg and sealed a spot in the semi-finals. Paulo Dybala and Gianluca Mancini were the goalscorers for Roma, while Matteo Gabbia was the sole scorer for Milan.
After the game, De Rossi hailed Shaarawy for the attacking and defensive shift that he put in when Roma were reduced to 10 men after Mehmet Zeki Celik was shown a red card for a challenge on Rafael Leao.
"It's not nice to mention players like that. I could mention all of them. The players on the bench were brilliant too. I've known [Stephan] El Shaarawy for so many years now and not that this is down to me, but when he was a young lad, he wasn't this sort of player. He was a huge talent, but he was a bit less of a team player. He was a fantastic footballer, but not very mature given his age. What he did this evening was incredible, both defensively and in attack. He got in behind their defence, he headed balls, he led breaks and created chances. It was remarkable to watch and would've made any coach proud," De Rossi said as quoted from the club's official website.
De Rossi was asked about which team he was most proud of the 11-player team that took a goal advantage or the 10-men team that defended the lead.
"Both of them because both are elements of top teams and wonderful runs. We can't intend to put our opponents under pressure for the entire game because we have to be aware that we're facing super teams, such as a well-drilled AC Milan side, who I think played well across both legs," De Rossi said.
"There were times when we had to dig in. There was also a sending-off that made things more difficult for us after making a strong start. We did, however, manage to play our game. Maybe another goal would've put the tie to bed earlier. That's how it was mentally and it gave us a huge boost. They continued to attack well, but the more time passed, the less strong they seemed to become," De Rossi added.
Roma will return to action in Serie A against Bologna on Monday.