De Rossi delighted to get 'vital' win at the death

The Giallorossi - with a game still in hand on leaders Napoli - kept themselves in the chasing pack with a last-gasp win at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday night, with Federico Fazio scoring in the final moments of the game.

After a goalless draw last weekend against Chievo, the win was a much-needed boost for all the players.

“We've picked up three massive points today but if you look at the league table we keep winning games and yet we always seem to be fourth or fifth," De Rossi noted.

"It would have been a huge blow if we'd dropped two points today. We're happy and it's always a psychological boost to win games like that.”

Roma are still finding goals hard to come by. What is it that's not working for you up front?

“It's the team as a whole, not just the forwards. We had five or six clear-cut chances against Chievo and there were a couple of miraculous saves too. We missed a penalty today and it's not always easy to pick yourself up and start playing again the way we did. We have some superb players so the goals will come.”

Inter's defeat means it's tighter than ever at the top...

“We obviously hope that the sides above us drop points. It's incredibly close up there – we're all bunched up together and we have a game in hand too. It's going to be a riveting season right till the end. Winning today was vital.”

You found it harder to break down the opponents today than on other occasions.

“Most of the games we play are against teams who are well drilled and sit back and wait for us. It wasn't an easy game today. We'd seen how well they played against Inter but we managed to starve them of chances. If we'd scored the penalty, it would have made everything a whole lot easier.

"Diego [Perotti] hardly ever misses from the spot but it's always possible that the keeper will catch you out. It's right that Diego should be our penalty taker, though – over the years he's proven himself to be virtually infallible.”

Roma seem to be hungry for success. Is this the right time to play Juventus?

“Juve have shown themselves to be hungrier than anyone. We've all admired them. How many times have we seen them win games thanks to a piece of skill or by fighting tooth and nail?"