De Rossi: “We stayed in the game until the end. We needed this boost”

Here's what coach Daniele De Rossi thought of the Giallorossi's performance…

How much did the yellow card Gianluca Mancini received after five minutes throw a spanner in the works? Aside from the aforementioned, why did Roma have so many issues with their first half setup?

“I don’t think it was just down to Mancini’s yellow. It was in part because of our approach, the fact that they won so many second balls and loads of aerial duels, as well as the fact that some of my choices didn’t totally help the team.

“We didn't have a good first half – it was sloppy in every regard. We were much better after the break, and although we saw a lot of the ball we didn’t make convert enough of our possession into shots on goal. We need to work on this.”

What are you referring to when you talk about your choices?

“When things aren't going well you have to analyse where you’re going wrong. We’ve had three matches immediately following European commitments, and after the two ones against Feyenoord as well the Brighton fixture we’ve gone on to perform poorly in each of the first halves - against Frosinone, against Torino and today against Fiorentina.

“In these matches which have followed cup fixtures I’ve set the team out with three in the centre at the back to provide greater solidity. We’ve seen that the players don’t actually need this and maybe we’ll have to look deeper at this matter. When I see that my players are tired maybe I revert to a system that has made them feel secure for a long time, where they managed to be almost unbeatable, because scoring past a Roma side with five at the back was a real challenge. At least, that's how I remember it. Instead, you can see that I'm in the process of moving away from such a system, and I'll have to think about it carefully next time."

When you took off Mancini you also sent Rick Karsdorp to warm up. Did you think you’d switch to a back four right away? Roma have won so many games by playing great football, but how important was avoiding defeat today, even just from a morale point of view?

“Yes, I had sent both Karsdorp and [Mehmit] Celik to warm up, because I wanted to immediately switch to a back four, but then it occurred to me that it was a change that I could also make later on. We didn't have a lot of height in the team and this was evident - we suffered both on set pieces and on long balls. Opting for Dean [Huijsen], a tall lad who can also play full-back, allowed me not to waste a substitution if I wanted to go back to four. So, I had thought about making that type of substitution, but I decided to put on Dean.

“Avoiding defeat in a match like this is significant, not only for our league position but also for the dressing room morale boost. I don't like to celebrate draws, but we’ve picked up a point against a great team, who played very well, in a difficult stadium where many teams lose. We stayed in the game, showing the right attitude, until the very end.

“Sometimes, in a long season, you face games like this. You may end up losing or drawing them – and it’s not just about points on the board, but also spending a few minutes with the lads in front of the fans. It’s these moments which we really need.”

Roma had 68% of possession, and usually it’s Fiorentina who achieve such numbers. By switching to a 4-3-3 in the second half you pushed forward by 20 metres and began to control the game. Above all, all of your players showed composure. This second half impressed us, compared to the first.

“This team had left some good impressions on me in the last few games, with how they played, with how they moved without the ball. I do think we didn’t take enough shots on goal given how much possession we had in the second half – that’s something we need to work on.

“I’ll say it again, you’ve got to factor in the opposition. We conceded our second right at the moment when we were playing our best. I also had the feeling that we could win it, with the way the match turned out. Their goal to make it 2-1 took the wind out of our sails.

“There were also individual moments of brilliance. I’m talking about what the lads did who created the goal to make it 2-2 and our goalkeeper, who saved the penalty and kept us in the match."

Speaking of that goal, has Llorente been pulling off such shots in training? Did Mancini understand why he was taken off?

“Diego is a quality player – he’s almost wasted as a defender. He’s got tremendous ability with his feet and is great at reading the game. He’s already shown previously in his career that he can score such goals. Evan [Ndicka] found him with a great header but he still had a lot of work to do, and he did wonderfully to finish the move off. It’s a wonderful effort, and of course it had been worked on in training! It was really beautiful.

“As for Mancini, it's something that we don't even need to discuss with him. It was totally clear – the Fiorentina fans were desperate for him to get another card, showing the same desire they’d show to see their team actually score. It wasn’t a matter of tactics, per se – it was to avoid him getting sent off. I haven’t reviewed the footage and, aside from the actual rules of the game, the influence of the home fans was so strong that a red card would be soon to follow.”

How is Paulo Dybala? What did you make of Houssem Aouar’s performance?

“Dybala played great and he sought out the ball even in positions which are less suited to what he usually does. He even strayed from his typical territory to try and help the team build play only in his corner of the pitch. They were hounding us man-for-man and couldn’t escape their pressure. He was taken off but he’s not said that anything is really up. He was just fatigued, which is understandable given how much gametime he has seen.

“As for Aouar, I reckon he’s a top player. He scored a good goal, and I'm delighted because that will give him confidence. He also struggled in the first half, like everyone else, but I'm happy that he played 90 minutes. Beyond his quality as a footballer, he’s a lad who deserves to be part of this group: he always gives his all in training.

“He understands that I like how he’s been doing in recent weeks - when I joined he was a slightly different player. I'm happy with him for his goal, because I think that a confident Aouar is a big asset to us.”

Aouar showed great attitude [DAZN shows footage of Aouar winning the ball back, ed.) This was at a point when Roma were suffering - he makes a 20 metre sprint. It's a positive attitude and I think that's what you want to see.

"Absolutely. I’ll also show my players this footage, because it’s what makes the difference. Yet that’s not enough. Especially in the first half, we lost a lot of second balls, a lot of aerial duels.

“Their forward play was very direct, and if you have the fiery attitude that Aouar had in this clip maybe we would have kept possession of the ball even more, not to mention dead ball situations.

“We'll break it all down, but I liked this clip of Aouar. I really liked the fact that when the match was practically over, the corner kick was taken low and [Nicola] Zalewski's run allowed us to have one last chance.

“This meant that we go home with an important point, not only because they made a great tackle, then a great cross, then a great goal, but also because someone anticipated the move, ran to the other side of the pitch and allowed us to have one last opportunity to score.”