Vieira: “We defended well and want to keep this up”

In what was a battling performance from Sampdoria against Roma on Sunday, Ronaldo Vieira was one of those players to stand out.

“We trained well this week. We knew that Roma are a strong side, but we stayed compact today. We defended well and want to keep this up,” he said after the 0-0 draw.

He continued: “Ranieri has come in with the mentality that if we can’t win, we shouldn’t lose. That’s what we did today.

“[Andrea] Bertolacci and I stuck close together, also with [Emiliano] Rigoni on the right and Kuba [Jankto] on the left.

“We’ll go to Bologna to try and win the game. If we can’t win, we mustn’t lose. That’s our mentality.”