Di Francesco: We were guilty of not putting the game to bed

The Giallorossi fell to a 3-1 defeat at the Stadio Olimpico, as Edin Dzeko's early opener was cancelled out by a late flurry from the visitors.

Roma hit the post three times prior to Inter's 67th minute equaliser - and Di Francesco could scarcely believe his side's misfortune.

“It comes down to the width of the post," he said. "You need the rub of the green which I think Inter had.

"Unfortunately we were guilty of not putting the game to bed earlier on and we made a few mistakes on the first goal we conceded. It’s a shame because the team’s performance was almost flawless.

"We bossed the game, kept the ball well and we were switched on at the back. We were naive on their equaliser which changed the game. It basically comes down to the fact that we didn’t score despite a host of chances.

"Everyone moaned last Sunday because we played badly and won whereas today we played well and didn’t. You decide what the right thing is even if all this talk is just hot air.”

Perhaps you need a new defender as opposed to a forward in what remains of the window...

“Now is not the time to discuss the transfer window. Our backline, which included a left-sided centre back at right full-back, held firm for 70 minutes. What I didn’t like is that we fell apart and lost our shape, failing to keep playing for the full 90 minutes. That is not what top sides are all about and we need to show character at times like those.

"However, with the exception of the equaliser, the defenders produced a very good performance in general terms. We did everything we needed to out there but didn’t put the game to bed when we deserved to.”

Do you think there was more substance to Roma tonight despite the result?

“I thought we weren’t just good for 70 minutes, we were excellent in every area. We harried them well and dropped deep at the right time. We did well to win the ball back in their half, causing them problems. We weren’t clinical if we look at how much we created. We saw definite progress though it’s a shame about the result. Clearly people will focus on the result but I will look at the excellent team performance save the last 18 minutes. If either side deserved to be in front it was Roma, end of story.”

Do you think there was some doubt over the penalty not awarded for a challenge on [Diego] Perotti?

“I think that if it’s not a penalty in instances like those you can’t award the corner either. What’s crazy is a corner was given. We were leading 1-0 and these decisions have a big impact on the outcome.”

What did [Luciano] Spalletti say to you at full time?

“Luciano told me that had my side scored instead of hitting the woodwork three times, we would have won the match. He’s right too. Ultimately though people only remember the team that win and score more goals. We must get over this result and reproduce this approach in terms of how we kept the ball and pressed the opposition.”

How much more can this side improve? Perhaps you have to work on the way they fell to pieces in the dying minutes...

“They gave their all out there. As I told the lads, we need to maintain our shape in the last 15 minutes and create more dangerous opportunities. Scoring the second goal clearly gave Inter a big lift and they did well to hurt us on the break.”