Ranieri's take on AZ Alkmaar v Roma

Here's what our coach had to say...

What were you most disappointed with this evening?

“The fact that we mostly controlled the game and yet the other team won. It's a shame because conceding a goal like that – from a throw-in – is hard to take. It can happen but it shouldn't happen.

“We played well and created lots of openings but our opponents have got all three points having spent the match defending. We had the game in our hands and we let it get away from us.”

When AZ scored their goal, there were six AZ players against four Roma players. It's not the first time Roma have conceded a goal like that, especially away from home.

“That's what we're like. Not good. Clearly we're not smart enough, not streetwise enough. We make some incredible mistakes. That's our takeaway from a game we were in control of. But that's football: we weren't able to score. [Mile] Svilar didn't have any saves to make. We tried everything but at the end of the day had no end product to show for it.”

How did the two midfielders get on? Could Manu Kone perhaps have been a bit more attacking?

“He definitely could have. He wasn't supposed to carry the ball up the field – I told him not to do that – because they'd then have attacked us with two or three players. They could foul us and the referee might not blow for it. That's why I asked them to move the ball around quickly then play it forward. But we didn't play it forward very much.

“We did much better in the second half, with [Matias] Soule. But ultimately we did this and we did that but we did nothing. It's a shame because it was a good performance. The team played well but what have we got to show for it? Nothing. They've picked up three points with minimum effort. It's really disappointing.”

Did you perhaps need more players getting up into the box?

“Maybe we need to be a bit nastier, a bit more determined. The funny thing is we got three, four, five players up in the box and this time we moved the ball around but weren't able to get decent shots away. It's such a pity because we played well. Now try telling someone we lost 1-0...”