Eusebio Di Francesco cannot fathom how Roma “keep making the same mistakes and losing the plot,” but had dismal injury updates after the defeat to Real Madrid.
They had arguably dominated the first half of this evening’s Champions League showdown at the Stadio Olimpico, a head-to-head for the top spot in the group, and wasted numerous chances.
Straight after the restart, they gave away two cheap goals and were eventually beaten 2-0.
Eusebio Di Francesco cannot fathom how Roma “keep making the same mistakes and losing the plot,” but had dismal injury updates after the defeat to Real Madrid.
They had arguably dominated the first half of this evening’s Champions League showdown at the Stadio Olimpico, a head-to-head for the top spot in the group, and wasted numerous chances.
Straight after the restart, they gave away two cheap goals and were eventually beaten 2-0.
“Aside from individual errors, and today we went out there with a very young team that was lacking a lot of important players, we went out with a good attitude,” the Coach told Sky Sport Italia.
“We cannot, however, keep doing the same mistakes over and over again. Every single time we concede a goal, we lose the plot completely and let our heads drop.
“It makes me so angry I can barely describe it. If you play so well against a side like Real Madrid, you can’t just abandon everything when there is a setback.
“If you look at it, the first big error was from Fazio, who is not a kid. Some of our more experienced players also make errors. The younger players are so over-eager that sometimes they can make the wrong decision when clear on goal.
“What really annoys me is that we conceded two goals on the counter from our own corner. That is something that kills you in football. We cannot make that kind of mistake.”
Cengiz Under somehow turned over from a yard with Thibaut Courtois already on the ground just before half-time and that incident effectively destroyed Roma’s confidence.
“I’ve been asked seven or eight times what we can do about this and it’s the million-dollar question. I have told the players many times that games can be drawn or won at the 90th minute. Instead, this team seems to give up with 30 minutes to go, acting as if it’s the final minute already.
“I’ve told them over and over again, do you think I haven’t? I just have to say that at times the players still lose their heads and can’t focus in those situations.
“The worst part is, we had done the hard work, we had pressed Real Madrid to win the ball back and create those scoring opportunities, but then the lack of experience – especially compared to Real Madrid – really showed.”
The injury crisis shows no signs of abating and there is a huge Serie A clash with Inter coming up this weekend.
“We certainly won’t have Edin Dzeko, Stephan El Shaarawy, Daniele De Rossi or Lorenzo Pellegrini against Inter on Sunday. 100 per cent. Unfortunately, Dzeko hurt himself in the last five minutes of yesterday’s training session and we won’t have him for a while. I don’t know how long yet, but he did get hurt.”
Despite being jeered off the field at the final whistle, Roma had already qualified for the Round of 16 even before kicking off, because CSKA Moscow lost 2-1 to Viktoria Plzen in the early game.