Eusebio Di Francesco concedes it wasn’t Roma’s best performance and Empoli “deserved more” than a 2-0 defeat.
The Giallorossi notched up their fourth consecutive victory in all competition, decided by a Steven Nzonzi header on a Lorenzo Pellegrini free kick and Edin Dzeko late counter.
They were living dangerously at the Stadio Castellani, as Empoli hit the woodwork and missed a penalty.
Eusebio Di Francesco concedes it wasn’t Roma’s best performance and Empoli “deserved more” than a 2-0 defeat.
The Giallorossi notched up their fourth consecutive victory in all competition, decided by a Steven Nzonzi header on a Lorenzo Pellegrini free kick and Edin Dzeko late counter.
They were living dangerously at the Stadio Castellani, as Empoli hit the woodwork and missed a penalty.
“We certainly could’ve done better, as it was a decent first half with a few counter-attacks, but after the break Empoli strengthened and they would’ve deserved more,” confessed the Coach on DAZN and Sky Sport Italia.
“We made a few too many mistakes and tended to switch off at times. That’s why I changed the system in the second half. We should’ve made more of our physicality, as that’s where we had the upper hand over Empoli.”
Roma have been transformed since the training retreat, which sparked four straight wins over Frosinone, Lazio, Viktoria Plzen and Empoli in which they scored 14 goals and conceded one.
“The psychological aspect is something we worked very hard on and it’s important to balance self-belief with humility. Often we lose that balance and have to keep working on it.
“In the second half, for example, we played almost with a sense of complacency.”
With Aleksandar Kolarov injured, 19-year-old full-back Luca Pellegrini was given his first start for his hometown club.
“He had a good game and after a few misplaced early crosses reacted well against a difficult team. He has great capabilities and if he continues to work like this, then he can become important for Roma.”