Eusebio Di Francesco admits Roma “completely lost our way” in a 2-0 home defeat to Milan and another dismal second half performance.
It’s another desperately disappointing second half performance after a strong start, not dissimilar to the Champions League collapse away to Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday evening.
With Inter and Lazio winning, the Giallorossi now slide out of the top four in Serie A and their confidence is slipping.
Eusebio Di Francesco admits Roma “completely lost our way” in a 2-0 home defeat to Milan and another dismal second half performance.
It’s another desperately disappointing second half performance after a strong start, not dissimilar to the Champions League collapse away to Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday evening.
With Inter and Lazio winning, the Giallorossi now slide out of the top four in Serie A and their confidence is slipping.
“I thought we had a good first half and allowed Milan very little. We weren’t determined enough in our finishing, that is true,” the Coach told Mediaset Premium.
“However, after the opening goal, we lost our way. That is something that has to make us think and think hard. It was not a physical issue, we simply lost control of the game.
“Obviously it’s an alarm bell. We cannot be happy with this result, nor our season overall. We expected a different performance in the second half. We lost our unity and I was surprised by that.
“Milan did very little in the first half, whereas we created dangerous situations, but without the belief to finish them off.
“On the goal, we were taken by surprise too easily and the offside trap failed. We shouldn’t fall apart like that, we need the strength to stick together, stick to the plan and find our way back into the game. I get the feeling we lacked character in difficult situations.”
Di Francesco started Patrik Schick in attack rather than Edin Dzeko.
“He had characteristics that could cause problems for their defenders. He went a bit too wide at times for a centre-forward and didn’t provide as much creativity as I expected. Dzeko needed a rest, but the problem was the whole team, as we lost our shape completely after the goal and the responsibility for that is mine.
“The difference was in the opening Milan goal, as Suso’s pass showed quality and Cutrone showed determination to get on the end of it. That’s what we were lacking.”
The tactician was asked if he was up for debate now after this latest setback and the Champions League defeat.
“All Coaches are up for debate the moment we sit on the bench. We are always responsible and therefore we are always up for debate.”
His substitutions in the second half were mostly forced, as Radja Nainggolan, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Cengiz Under all asked to come off.
“Nainggolan went off without a tooth and was feeling a little dizzy. I also had to introduce another forward and create more in attack. Radja isn’t having his best season at Roma, but this team does need him and he’ll find the right path.”