Perotti: I knew teammates and the fans were relying on me

The Argentine successfully converted from the spot just minutes after half-time to give the Giallorossi the lead in the derby, an advantage they would ultimately hold onto as they eventually ran out victors at the Stadio Olimpico.

“I don’t know if the knees were wobbling, but definitely I knew I was carrying the responsibility for all the others on the pitch with me, on the bench and in the stands,” Perotti said. “I didn’t want to miss, that would have been a huge disappointed.

“I think that, overall, we deserved to win this evening.”

Radja Nainggolan grabbed Roma’s other goal on the night, after being an injury doubt for much of the week after suffering a thigh problem while on international duty.

“I truly do not understand what Radja’s body is made of,” Perotti joked. “Every time he gets injured, he trains hard and returns and is back playing much quicker than others. I have never seen anything like it – I don’t think he’s human.”

The winger was asked what the team’s aims are now, after picking up an important win over a close rival.

“I think we have to keep working on the message from the boss,” he said. “Early on perhaps it was a bit harder, because at the beginning people did not have a lot of confidence in us, but we stayed quiet and worked hard, trying to follow the coach’s instructions as well as we can. With every training session we get a better handle on his ideas.

“The results can be seen out on the pitch. The credit goes to the coach, and also those out on the pitch who are showing their quality. All of us together believe in ourselves … and this is the attitude we take out onto the pitch each time.”