Garcia: We lacked a cutting edge in attack

Despite dominating much of the game at San Siro and registering 19 efforts on goal, Roma couldn’t find an answer to Gary Medel’s 31st minute strike.

The defeat brought to an end a run of three consecutive Roma wins in Serie A but Garcia was keen to stress that there were still positives to take from the loss.

Harsh defeat?

"Yes, you can see that not only from the statistics but also the attempts on goal. But we're also to blame for the result because we weren't clinical enough in front of goal. Then we went down to ten men. [Miralem] Pjanic shouldn't have appealed against the two handballs the referee didn't give against Inter players. Then he did it, we went a man down and he won't be available for the next game."

How did you prepare for the match?

"We expected Inter to press high, as they usually do at home, especially at the start of matches. Instead they let us have the ball and we were able to use it well, getting into the final third. We came up short in our finishing, however.

“As I've said, the most striking aspect of tonight's match was our lack of cutting edge in front of goal and we have to address that immediately. I did enjoy the team's performance defensively though. Apart from their goal, we only afforded them a chance through [Marcelo] Brozovic, so I think we did well. These are positive signs for our upcoming matches.

“I'm pretty relaxed about it. First place was never going to be decided tonight and I'm sure that if we keep playing like this, we'll win a lot of football matches."

Do you feel let down by your forwards?

"No, not at all. [Edin] Dzeko needs to play to rediscover that initial burst of pace. Once he does so, I'm sure he'll become more effective up front too."

Can you explain why you brought on William Vainqueur for Dzeko?

"Sure. Once we went down to ten men, I didn't want to leave Radja [Nainggolan] on his own in midfield. Plus I needed more pace, as opposed to a target man like Edin. We threatened after the change too. Dzeko has played a lot since returning from injury as well and in my mind I had already thought of bringing him off because we've got another game on Wednesday."

Do your forward players become more predictable when Dzeko plays?

“No, because tonight Inter sat deep and closed down the space - only [Mohamed] Salah was occasionally able to find some [space]. Our issue today was we shot too close to the opposition goalkeeper, who was Man of the Match and prevented us from scoring. We had chances at 0-0 and even more so after the break."

Do you believe Juventus can compete for the title?

"Yes, I've not changed my mind on that. They too will be in the mix."