Rudi Garcia insists “it was impossible” for Roma to do better than their 6-1 defeat to Barcelona. “Nothing changes.”
The Giallorossi suffered another Champions League humiliation, beaten 6-1 at Camp Nou, but can still qualify with a win over BATE Borisov or even a draw if Bayer Leverkusen fail to beat Barcelona.
Rudi Garcia insists “it was impossible” for Roma to do better than their 6-1 defeat to Barcelona. “Nothing changes.”
The Giallorossi suffered another Champions League humiliation, beaten 6-1 at Camp Nou, but can still qualify with a win over BATE Borisov or even a draw if Bayer Leverkusen fail to beat Barcelona.
“What can we say? They are a stratospheric side and unbeatable. We needed a miracle and it didn't happen. At this moment they are unplayable,” the Coach told Mediaset Premium.
“Nothing changes, as we still need to beat BATE Borisov if we want to reach the Round of 16. That’s all there is to it. The good news arrived before it even kicked off, as BATE Borisov and Bayer Leverkusen drew 1-1, so it means we have destiny at our feet.
“Barcelona scored some great goals, just look at the third from Luis Suarez, they are full of champions and nobody can stop them at the moment.
“I am not remotely worried. Obviously nobody likes to lose, but this is nothing like the defeat we had to Bayern Munich. We arrived with a lot of humility and could’ve taken the lead, but undeniably Barcelona are the stronger side.
“We could’ve scored earlier and been a bit more closed up. I tried everything, we pressed them right away, but even with everyone back we conceded two goals.
“If Edin had scored early on, I still trust we would’ve lost the game eventually. We lost the ball too quickly. After the break I changed system, trying to press and stop all the balls coming in behind the defence, but in the end nothing changed.
“I have nothing to reproach my players for, other than we should’ve used the ball better in the first half and could’ve scored, but winning here was impossible.
“The result and above all Barcelona’s performance shows even more how good our first meeting with them was and how precious the 1-1 draw proved to be.
“As I said, Barcelona are in the clouds right now and we didn’t need this show of strength to know that. We are far away from that level, but they are probably the best team in the world. We won't be the last side to concede six here.
“I am disappointed, obviously, there is bitterness to have lost with this scoreline, but in the end we must only focus on beating Atalanta in Serie A and above all BATE Borisov.
“I was able to rest Daniele De Rossi and Radja Nainggolan, who were a booking away from suspension, so we’ll have them for the decisive match.
“I also got to rest Alessandro Florenzi and Miralem Pjanic in the second half.”