Sabatini: We need to bounce back straight away

Speaking after the match at the Camp Nou, the sporting director called for the side to put the defeat behind them and concentrate on getting back to winning ways in Serie A – starting this weekend.

“We had a very tough loss last year too,” stated Sabatini. “Starting against Atalanta on Sunday, we need to immediately bounce back from this result, without feeling sorry for ourselves and without going on about dashed confidence.”

What are the reasons behind this defeat?

“We played against an extraordinary side enjoying an extraordinary spell. Maybe the fact that we knew we could afford a loss after the 1-1 draw between BATE and Leverkusen didn’t help either. There are no excuses though and it’s a big blow. It doesn’t feel good but tomorrow we get straight back to work.”

How do you kick on from here?

“Quite simply, we just do. There’s no point talking about mental collapse or anything after this result. The team needs to recharge its batteries ready for Atalanta on Sunday. We need to focus on the league. There’s no doubt that the players in this team can do much, much more and they know that. They will give their all now, as they’ve always done.”

What have you learnt from this game?

“All games tell a story, even the ones you win. You need to be able to understand that and analyse the importance of each match. The players need to do that too – they know it’s not been the best performance of their careers.”

Do you blame the players more or the coach?

“Defeats don’t necessarily need to have someone responsible for them. We played poorly, conceded early on and then went to pieces. But we want to be fair with our players. They deserve the respect of our fans, who I would like to thank for the way they supported the team on and off the field.”

Roma now have the worst defensive record in the Champions League…

“That’s a problem that the coach is trying to solve by getting the players to focus on it. It’s not just the defence that needs to work on it, but the whole side. It’s true that we’re conceding a few too many goals, but we’re also scoring a lot. That’s the way we play – when you score three or four goals there’s often a risk you concede a few, but we will improve.”