Fonseca: We didn't have the aggression you need in games like this

Coach Paulo Fonseca refused to make excuses for his side's performance, as Roma lost to Napoli on Sunday night.

The Giallorossi's unbeaten streak came to an end with a 4-0 loss at the San Paolo, on a night where Diego Maradona was remembered at the ground that will soon bear his name.

Here's what Fonseca had to say about the display.

Did the team lack courage tonight?

“I think so. The team didn’t show the usual spirit they have when facing a team like Napoli. It’s simple really: Napoli deserved to win and we didn’t do anything to warrant a different result.”

This was an important game to evaluate Roma’s realistic ambitions this season, so does the team come out of it with different targets?

“No. Before this game we weren’t the best side in the world and after it we aren’t the worst either. Every game is a test, not just those you play against the top sides. We have won against top sides too. Today that didn’t happen, we didn’t play well – we lacked courage and aggression. When that happens, you have to accept it and make sure you work hard to correct all the things you didn’t do well.”

Was it case of too many players lacking full fitness and then some of the substitutions not being up to the same level, or was this just one of those evenings?

“I don’t want to find excuses. We didn’t have the aggression we needed and we failed to close the spaces between the lines, so they were always able to get in behind easily. We weren’t compact and aggressive defensively.

“The strange thing is that in the first part of the game we played well, but then after that we weren’t able to string three passes in a row together.”

How do you explain this tough night then?

“Napoli are a great side, and we committed a number of defensive mistakes that really knocked the confidence of the lads. We struggled defensively at times. When we had the ball we played a bit too direct, without moving it around enough, and that allowed Napoli to win it back and get on the counter-attack.”

Was it a strange night, in some ways?

“For all of us who love football and who watched Maradona play it was definitely a different sort of day, but when the game started we were all thinking about that. It didn’t influence the game in any way.”

Did Edin Dzeko’s performance hamper Roma?

“No. We shouldn’t forget that Dzeko has been sidelined for a while recently, he’s not in top shape physically. But, as I’ve already said, we can’t look for excuses when we lose like this. We can only hold our hands up and say the other side were better.”