Radja: It hurts to lose this one

Roma succumbed to a 1-0 defeat against the Bianconeri in Turin, as Gonzalo Higuain's 14th minute finish proved the difference between the two sides.

The Giallorossi played well in spells and dominated possession for most of the match - but in the end they once again came away from Juventus Stadium empty-handed.

“That's football," Nainggolan said. "I think we played pretty well. They had a couple of chances to score a second when we were pushing on for an equaliser, while we had several half-chances ourselves that might have gone for us but didn't.

"It hurts to lose this match but I think we were good for a point given the way we set about things and how we played.”

In the last few seasons, Juventus have been impossible to reel back in once they put daylight between themselves and the chasing pack...

“They have a seven-point lead now, which means they need to lose three matches and we have to win three more than them. It will be difficult but looking at this game I don't think we have anything less than them.”

Was it Juventus' mentality that made the difference today?

“Moments win matches and that's what happened today, although they could have won by a bigger margin considering the chances they had late on. [Gonzalo] Higuain took his goal superbly. Otherwise we kept their strikers pretty quiet and moved the ball around well – not many teams come here and do that.”

Did you struggle to find space between the lines?

“We were used to playing with [Mohamed] Salah, who likes to get in behind the backline. We tried to play a bit differently today with Gerson – a promising young player who played with real character. We could have done with Salah's change of pace though as he often proves crucial with his runs. [Edin] Dzeko was a tad isolated up top, although I tried to link up with him a few times. At the end of the day we have to remember we were playing against a top team in Juventus and we must give them credit too.”