DI FRANCESCO: "WE'RE GOING THROUGH A PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENT"
Coach Eusebio Di Francesco acknowledged his Roma side had been given a timely reminder of the areas they can still improve in, following Wednesday's 2-0 defeat at Atletico Madrid. The Giallorossi were beaten at the Estadio Metropolitano to deny their bid for last-16 qualification until the final matchday, although Di Francesco resisted some of the criticism that was directed at his side.
Roma have the best defence in Italy, but you’ve conceded two goals tonight against an Atletico team who haven’t been in the greatest form:
"Let’s not forget who we’ve been up against tonight. They’re all quality players. We matched them until they scored, but we lacked precision when we won the ball in the first half – there were at least 11 or 12 times we lost the ball in their half of the field. We needed to be more decisive with the final ball and go in search of the goal. They didn’t create very much at all in the first 45 minutes, but after the break they showed more hunger and desire."
Can this defeat be a positive? Was there too much euphoria after the derby?
"Euphoria is good, but arrogance isn’t. We need to realise that. We’re going through a process of development and it’s better if you don’t lose, but you need to be intelligent about your defeats and work on your mistakes. Given the team we have, we made too many technical mistakes tonight, but we can’t forget that Atletico cause problems for everything they face. It was very even. We’ve shown we can go toe to toe with anyone and proved we have bags of character."
Edin Dzeko hasn’t scored for a month. Is that too long?
"He’ll score if he works even harder for the team. It’s important he doesn’t obsess over the goals too much – it’s obviously hard when a striker doesn’t score, but we could have been more precise with the final ball in the first half. I think that made it hard for him to make a telling contribution."
Can Roma improve in Europe?
"I believe so. Regardless of results, when you’re conveying a mentality to a team and they’re able to be ambitious at a tough ground like this one, what you what is for them to show their quality and be more clear-headed. We came here to go for it against a team that had to win – they had more desire than us and perhaps we need to realise that against the top teams you need to show more hunger, both in defence and attack."
How do you respond to those who say that you’ve shuffled the line-up too much?
"I’d point to my results and the facts. The responses I’ve had so far have been excellent. If Atletico had dominated us from the first minute I would understand the criticism, but that wasn’t the case. We came up short in the final half an hour – that’s what we need to work on. They’d brought more forwards on to go all out for the win. I’m not trying to make excuses: we just need to focus on working hard and not letting the mentality we’ve built up slip away. It’s important the lads don’t lose that – they can’t start thinking they’ve already become a great team."
(Photo LaPresse)
