Florenzi shoulders responsibility after penalty save

The full-back, captain on the night with Daniele De Rossi on the bench, saw a first-half penalty saved by Sampdoria goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano, a turning point in the contest.

The Giallorossi improved in the second half and had plenty of chances to win the match, only for Viviano to prove equal to everything thrown at him – setting the stage for Duvan Zapata’s cruel winner 10 minutes from time.

Speaking after the game, Florenzi did not hide his disappointment.

“Certainly, if we had scored [the penalty] it would have changed the game and, of course, I take all the responsibility for that,” Florenzi said. “I got it wrong, unfortunately, but it’s happened now.

“We certainly tried to make up for it after, but unfortunately at the moment we are in a bit of a tunnel and we can’t see the light. We absolutely need to turn things around, as we have done in the past. We created a lot of chances once again tonight, but we need that little bit of good fortune. And it has to come soon.”

He added: “Today as well we created a lot of chances and could have taken the lead, but it didn’t happen that way and we have to accept this result and try and push on with our heads up: we can’t let our heads drop otherwise we’ll be beaten before the game starts.”

Florenzi was also asked about the whistles from the fans after the game, with the Curva Sud beckoning the players to come over to them.

“A couple of years ago the club told us that there was a rule against us going under the Curva, becacuse it could heighten tensions,” Florenzi said. “In saying this I don’t want to ignore the whistles, neither me nor the rest of the squad.

“We know at the moment the fans are angry, like them we are first of all fans of Roma. This evening we undoubtedly deserved the whistles. I repeat that we don’t want to ignore or dismiss the fans, we understand their passion and current frustration and I hope that they understand that it is the same for us.”