Edin Dzeko Admits Roma 'Need' Mohamed Salah After Goalless Draw With Atletico Madrid

Edin Dzeko has admitted that Roma are missing winger Mohamed Salah after Tuesday's goalless draw against Atletico Madrid on the opening night of the Champions League.

The Giallorossi struggled to create opportunities at the Stadio Olimpico, with Dzeko given little service in attack.

And the Bosnian forward has claimed that Roma are suffering from the loss of Salah, who joined Liverpool in a £36m deal this summer.

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“I scored many goals last season. It will be tougher this season because I don’t touch as many balls as I used to do last season,” Dzeko told Calciomercato.

“I think we miss [Francesco] Totti but more than anything we need Salah as well.

“He used to play close to me and now it’s all different. We must be patient with this new system and improve as a team, all together.”

On the draw against Atletico, he added: “We did some nice things but we need to do more especially in the final minutes. We had troubles against Inter and the same happened tonight.”

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Roma are back in Serie A action against Verona on Saturday, looking to recover from a disappointing 3-1 home defeat against Inter in their last league outing.

Eusebio Di Francesco's side return to the Champions League later this month with a trip to Azerbaijan, where they will meet Qarabag, who were beaten 6-0 by Chelsea in their opening Group C game.

"We were facing a strong side like Atletico," Di Francesco said. "We had a little luck at the end, getting back perhaps the luck we missed against Inter, and the goalkeeper made some great saves."