De Rossi: We're still in the tie

The Giallorossi succumbed to a 2-1 defeat in Kharkiv, as two second half Shakhtar goals left Eusebio Di Francesco's side needing to win the return leg at the Stadio Olimpico to have any hope of reaching the quarter-finals.

“We have another 90 minutes to turn the tie around and make up for the mistakes we made tonight," De Rossi said afterwards.

"It's gutting because we looked to be in control of the match in the first half.”

It was the proverbial game of two halves...

“We definitely played differently either side of the break. We were excellent in the opening period and poor in the second half after we conceded the equaliser. We dropped off and stopped playing – we were no longer knocking the ball around the way we did in the first half. We struggled to contain their attacking midfielders too. It's a shame.”

How do you explain the drop in performance levels?

“Shakhtar are a great side with quality players who play good football – let's not forget that. Obviously we'll go over everything with the boss in the next few days and look at where we came up short.

"At 2-1 we're still very much in it. Now we have to produce a top performance at home in the return leg.”

Will today's match help motivate you for the return leg?

“It will but playing in the last-16 of the Champions League is motivation enough – especially in front of our fans. It won't be easy because we'll be up against a very good team, but we showed we were a match for them on balance today: we were very good in the first half and they were better in the second. We'll push on from here.

“They're not world-beaters but we must be aware of their strengths. They might sit back and wait for us in the return leg, looking to hit us on the counter, so we'll have to be very alert and careful.”