Di Francesco: We've only got ourselves to blame

The Giallorossi fell to two first half goals for the Viola, as Marco Benassi and Giovanni Simeone both found the net at the Stadio Olimpico.

Roma had more than 20 shots over the 90 minutes (compared to Fiorentina's three) but found themselves on the losing side in the end.

“We didn't get the rub of the green today but when you create so many openings and concede two goals from three shots you only have yourself to blame for failing to take your chances," DI Francesco said.

"We didn't defend well. Things aren't going great for us at the moment. We're unable to turn our build-up play and our chances into goals. Sometimes you can take courage from the performance but football is about moments – and they didn't go for us today.”

Could it have something to do with the changes you made, swapping both full-backs and bringing in Maxime Gonalons?

“The lads can't all play 90 minutes every game when you have three games in a week. [Aleksandar] Kolarov for example needed a rest. Let's not create problems where they aren't any. We didn't score today. People often analyse the result without looking at the details but if there was a team that got less than they deserved today, it was Roma. Fiorentina sat back, scored twice and deservedly got the win. We have to keep quiet and think about Barcelona.”

How hard is it to pick yourselves up again for two vital matches against Barcelona and Lazio?

“We have to show we're strong enough to overcome these difficulties. We're not taking our chances and in the last two games we've let in four goals we didn't deserve at Barcelona because of our mentality – because we lacked a bit of conviction at times – and lost 2-0 tonight, which isn't a true reflection of the game but we just have to take it on the chin.”

How much does it annoy you to see your players lacking conviction?

“When you play lots of games it inevitably happens. You have to change a few things around but that too can have an effect on your performances. I don't think we played badly in the first half, though. We were caught on the counter a couple of times but we tried to cause them problems ourselves. Perhaps we weren't good enough at winning the ball back in the final third and we failed to finish moves off – that's where we came up short. But some of the ideas we were putting into practice were good.”

The Olimpico will be packed out on Tuesday. Do you believe you can turn it around?

“We play the game to experience occasions like this. Before people were saying we had nothing to lose but now I want something to play for. We have to believe and show desire. If we go out there and we're not determined, we'll get nowhere. We have to take a few more risks.”

What do you need to reach Juventus's level?

“Roma have been trying to get to that level for a few years now. We need to improve our mentality and sometimes you can improve after a defeat. It hurts when you lose but if you're doing the right things it pays off eventually. We do need to improve. We can't be the team with the most crosses in Serie A and not score. That's a failing of ours and it can't be used as an excuse. I spoke to the lads about it yesterday and I was angry in training. If you want to improve, you have to work well during the week: by working on the details you lay the groundwork for future success, but you have to put them into practice.”