Interviews

Gross: We've become ruthless under Roberto

Midfielder has played pivotal role since Italian's appointment.

By Charlie Hanson • 14 April 2023

By Paul Hazlewood
Pascal Gross has been involved in 11 Premier League goals this season - six goals, five assists.

Pascal Gross believes that Albion have made more improvement in front of goal than anywhere else since Roberto De Zerbi took over in September.

The Italian will be aiming for Premier League win number ten of his Albion career on Saturday when his team take on Chelsea, his side having scored 41 goals in 22 games he has overseen in the league so far.

Gross has started every league match since De Zerbi joined Albion in September, in which time the German midfielder says the team have found a new level.

“Playing football as a team is where we’ve improved - understanding the game, where we can find spaces, the pressure from the opponents and scoring goals and being more ruthless. I think we have developed a lot.

By James Boardman
Pascal Gross.

“We work a lot on detail and sometimes that can make a big difference. You think you're playing okay but then you look at some clips later and think you could create even bigger chances if your movement was different, if your positioning changed a little bit.  We work on that every day. 

“So it's really clear for everyone. We're all on the same page and that makes a big difference.”

De Zerbi’s team will be looking to return to winning ways after last Saturday’s defeat to Tottenham, with another trip to London to take on the Blues this weekend.

It will be Frank Lampard’s first game at Stamford Bridge since his appointment as caretaker manager following the departure of former Albion boss Graham Potter.

“Probably their fans will be very loud at the beginning and will try to support them as much as they can,” Gross added. 

“We need to be even better then, so the crowd is not too loud. It depends on how we play and then hopefully we can take our chances.”