Roberto Mancini felt it important that Inter “were in it up to a certain point” in their 4-2 defeat to Roma.
He had been unbeaten since replacing Walter Mazzarri with a 1-1 draw against Milan and 2-1 Europa League victory over Dnipro, but fell at the Olimpico.
“Roma have been playing very well since last year, so we knew it would be difficult, but we were in it up to a certain point and that is important,” the Coach told Sky Sport Italia.
Roberto Mancini felt it important that Inter “were in it up to a certain point” in their 4-2 defeat to Roma.
He had been unbeaten since replacing Walter Mazzarri with a 1-1 draw against Milan and 2-1 Europa League victory over Dnipro, but fell at the Olimpico.
“Roma have been playing very well since last year, so we knew it would be difficult, but we were in it up to a certain point and that is important,” the Coach told Sky Sport Italia.
“We made mistakes, as they were able to cut in from the right too often and we wasted some chances. We did good and bad things tonight, so have to work.
“These are quality players and you can’t leave them space to play. We were too slow closing them down.”
Mancini had been expected to use a diamond midfield, but seemed to reshuffle his Nerazzurri again.
“Unfortunately at the moment, as we did last Sunday with Palacio and Kovacic, we had to adapt with Guarin and Palacio.
“I think Guarin needs to understand when to attack and when to defend, but will be a very important player for us.
“We cannot achieve everything in a few months. We’ll try to do the best we can and would certainly aim to qualify for the Champions League with two different paths to that.
“This team was built to play with a different system and different Coach in Mazzarri, so we are missing players in certain positions and need time to adapt. We have a month until the Christmas break and need to do all we can in this time.”
Mancini was sent off for dissent, as he claimed there was a foul on Guarin in the build-up to a Roma goal.
“Just look at the game… I honestly don’t want to waste words on the referee. I don’t care. I protested, but it wasn’t a protest about nothing.
“I know we have a lot of work to do, but we tried our best and one defeat certainly won’t change anything. We made mistakes and will try to avoid them in future, building on the positives from this evening.”
Daniel Osvaldo was chosen for this huge clash, suggesting he has overcome Mauro Icardi in the pecking order.
“We played three games in a week and I needed fresh legs. Icardi and Osvaldo are both great strikers who will do well.”