Daniele De Rossi sees Roma ‘on the right track,’ but also wants them to learn from the mistakes that allowed Inter to emerge 4-2 winners. ‘Luciano Spalletti was my mentor, he said defeats are rarely totally undeserved.’
De Rossi had said before kick-off that the intention was to make Inter realise Roma are a strong team, and he certainly achieved that with a very aggressive approach that caused the runaway leaders a lot of problems.
“We need to play football and there are many positive responses from this game, but also responses that show we can never lower our intensity if we want to fight it out with these great opponents,” De Rossi told DAZN.
The coach had won all three games since taking over from Jose Mourinho and was 2-1 up at half-time against the Serie A leaders too when Gianluca Mancini and Stephan El Shaarawy overturned the initial Francesco Acerbi opener.
However, Marcus Thuram scored, then forced Angeliño into an own goal before the last-gasp Alessandro Bastoni counter-attack sealed a 4-2 result.
“I think the game was substantially very even, there were moments where either team had the upper hand. I am proud of the lads, they gave their all and the crowd realised it too. When they recognise you put the effort in, they let you know, they don’t do it as a favour.
“I am also not saying I am proud of these lads because they are underdogs or anything. I am proud because they put in a great performance against a very strong team. I believe we are on the right track.”
When asked about the opportunity that Romelu Lukaku wasted one-on-one with Yann Sommer that would’ve made it 3-3, De Rossi reacted with irritation.
“It’s too easy to look only at the negative incidents and blame a single player. Incidents change a game, but we win them together and we lose them together.
“All 11 players and myself too lowered the level of intensity in the second half and were made to pay for it. We did it too against Verona and Salernitana, but won anyway because we have a superior squad to them. We cannot afford to do it against Inter.
“I didn’t like the blame game that the media plays when I was a player and I like it even less now as a coach. If Roma played so well, it was down to everyone and if we lost, it means we were all below Inter’s level – but not by much.”
El Shaarawy scored a goal, but was also tactically versatile working both to help out the defence and then go on the counter-attack.
“We decided to defend with five out of respect for Inter’s system, not trying to give them the width that they tend to enjoy so much. Angelino doesn’t have the classic physique of a defensive left-back, but he did well.
“We had to be courageous, attack, but also knew there were moments where we had to defend and counter, because that’s football.”
De Rossi reiterated he has a very different approach to management compared to predecessor Mourinho, who so often made it seem as if Roma results against the big clubs were impossible.
“Luciano Spalletti was my mentor and he would always say after a defeat, you did well, but no compliments. You lost, go home and it means you have to work on something, because defeats are rarely totally undeserved.
“It was very balanced, but ultimately Inter came out on top, so if we want to reach their level, we have to analyse this match and work on improving those defects.”
There are concerns over Roma’s fitness levels, as against Verona and Salernitana they too risked fumbling a lead in the second half, although he hints this is also largely psychological.
“I need to work to improve this, as evidently we didn’t press the right buttons in the locker room. Facing Inter and expecting to never be pushed back over 90 minutes is a bit of a utopian vision, but we still must be aggressive and stop them passing it around calmly.
“We had made the defensive moves well for the whole game, but on the Angelino own goal, we ended up with Dybala having to track back 70 metres to defend. That’s something we need to work on.”
Roma will face Feyenoord in the Europa League play-offs next week, stepping down from the Champions League, but again De Rossi stands proud and will not stand for an underdog status.
“We are inferior to nobody. If you look at the Europa League, there are big clubs and squads, but we are not inferior to them. It’s two games, we must be ready with our legs and minds to take on Feyenoord.”
#Roma, #DeRossi: "Sono figlio calcistico di #Spalletti, non si accettano complimenti quando si perde"https://t.co/xiCibbRB0Q
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) February 10, 2024