Spalletti: We got our reward in the end

The Giallorossi left it late to get the three points they needed to clinch second place in Serie A - with Diego Perotti scoring in the 90th minute to claim the win.

"We made it hard for ourselves by conceding that early goal," Spalletti said. "We equalised but then we got carried away trying to score another straight away. We did have a few more chances but we found ourselves getting stretched. Genoa had lots of young, energetic and enthusiastic players out there.

“We were a little unlucky today too – with Emerson's injury. It wasn't easy for Mario Rui to come in and produce a huge performance because he hasn't played much recently.

“We managed to get that second goal with some difficulty but fortunately we had the crowd behind us – even more so when Totti did something with the ball.

“The good thing was we kept our heads, even at the end when we switched things around and went with Fazio up front and three at the back We kept things tidy even when Genoa were on top."

Spalletti paid tribute to Edin Dzeko - who finished the season as the league's top goalscorer - and the general effort of his players.

“Dzeko was phenomenal today because he scored one and set up the other two," Spalletti added. "He did brilliantly to lay off for Perotti.

“We had to sweat for it but I think the win was deserved. The fact we got our reward late is testament to the fact we held our nerve right till the end.

“We were rewarded for our efforts – helped by a stadium packed to the rafters like never before. Francesco deserves credit for that because they were here for him. It worked in our favour because the crowd really drove us on.”