Ranieri said what he said to Shomurodov who did not score a goal!

Claudio Ranieri, who returned to the coaching staff not only to save Roma from the crisis, has proven himself to be a high-level specialist in practice.

Neither club legend Daniele De Rossi, who took over the team that could not rise above sixth place under Jose Mourinho, nor Ivan Juric, who stood out for his successful career in Serie A, were able to turn things around for Roma.

Under the last two coaches, the Wolves have become close to the outsiders in the competition table this season. The team's chances of getting out of the general stage of the Europa League were very low. Worst of all, the players lost confidence in themselves and each other.

Claudio Ranieri, when he took over the capital team, improved the internal atmosphere. He gave several players who had been relegated to the reserves under previous coaches a chance to show themselves. As a result, internal competition reappeared in Roma. Players such as Mathias Sule, Eldor Shomurodov, Lorenzo Pellegrini, and Mats Hummels began to shine again.

What is important for us is that Eldor Shomurodov, the captain and top scorer of the Uzbekistan national team, has gone from being an unwanted player to a hero at Roma. Our 29-year-old forward has shown that he can not only be a replacement for Artem Dovbik, but also compete with a valuable striker.

After Claudio Ranieri arrived, Eldor Shomurodov's playing time has increased dramatically. Our legionnaire has started several matches in the starting lineup. Eldor has shown that he is superior to his rival Artem Dovbik in some aspects, in particular, in increasing the team's offensive power, team play, and working together with leading players such as Paulo Dybala and Matias Sule.

Eldor's only drawback is that he does not score many goals. However, our compatriot's other advantages cover this drawback. This is perceived positively by the head coach Claudio Ranieri, his staff, the players in the team, and even the fans.

In particular, after the match against Empoli, journalists asked head coach Claudio Ranieri about the fact that the Uzbek player missed two good chances. The 73-year-old specialist commented on this as follows.

- "Shomurodov is a great guy. He was disappointed that he could not score. I explained to him that the most important thing is to appear at the right time, in the right place. Goals are just something that is scored and passed. Eldor decided the fate of several matches for us.

I told Shomurodov that I was old, that he would not keep me under pressure for the entire meeting, and asked him not to worry me too much at this age.," said Claudio Ranieri.

Now the Romans will prepare for the Europa League match. Ranieri's team will host Athletic Bilbao in the second leg of the quarter-finals on March 13. The match will start at 23:45 Tashkent time.

It is worth noting that Eldor Shomurodov's last-second goal in the first leg gave Roma a 2-1 lead.

Eldor Shomurodov has played 25 matches this season, scoring five goals and providing three assists. Follow “Zamin” news on “Telegram”