What did Ranieri say to Shomurodov as a joke?

Experienced coach Claudio Ranieri has been able to make positive changes in the team's performance since taking over "Roma," which is reflected in the results finds.

In Serie A, "Roma" has not lost yet in the new year. Their last defeat was on December 15 against "Como." Since then, the Romans have recorded six victories and three draws.

Powerful clubs like "Milan" and "Napoli" also failed to find a way to defeat "Roma" and had to settle for a draw.

In the 25th round, the capital's "wolves" were guests of the "Parma" team. In this match, Claudio Ranieri entrusted the forward line to Eldor Shomurodov and Matias Sule. Both forwards troubled the home defenders significantly.

The climax of the match came in the 31st minute. Eldor Shomurodov set Matias Sule up for a very comfortable position with a pass. As the Argentine forward was approaching the goalkeeper, "Parma" defender Jovanni Leoni brought him down.

The referee showed a red card to Leoni for this foul and awarded a free kick to "Parma's" goal. Sule himself took the shot brilliantly and accurately. This goal remained the only one until the end of the match.

Eldor Shomurodov was very active and performed well in the match he played in full. However, our legionnaire slipped several times on the slippery field in the first half. In one of those situations, Claudio Ranieri joked about his player.

Ranieri joked to the players and staff on the bench: “Did you put slippery wax on Eldor's boots?”

It should be noted that in winter sports, special wax is applied underneath skis for better sliding. Ranieri explained Eldor's falls in this way.

Experts who witnessed this incident noted that the internal environment of "Roma" is very good, that Claudio Ranieri has established friendly relations with the players, and that the positivity in their interactions even in difficult situations is positively influencing the results.

"Roma" has currently risen to 9th place in Serie A with 37 points. Ranieri's team still has the opportunity to compete for the sixth place that grants qualification for European competitions.

However, it is no secret that the Romans are focusing their main attention on the Europa League. The "Wolves" advanced from the group stage and faced "Porto" in the knockout round.

In the first match in Portugal, "Roma" played to a 1:1 draw. Now the teams need to resolve the issue of advancing to the next stage in the return match in Rome. This match is scheduled for February 20.

As for Eldor Shomurodov, our compatriot has played a total of 21 times in Serie A, the Coppa Italia, and the Europa League this season, scoring one goal in each of these competitions and providing one assist.