El Shaarawy: We don’t have a mental block

The forward opened the scoring for the home side after just 10 minutes - his sixth goal against Chievo – but despite team-mate Bryan Cristante doubling Roma’s lead 20 minutes later, it wasn’t enough to kill off the match.

"We needed to show that clinical streak to kill the game off,” El Shaarawy reflected after the final whistle. “It’s never over in Italian football – teams are going to exploit anything you give them. I don’t think we dropped off. Apart from the two goals, we dominated the game and did our best to put it to bed. Had one of those chances gone it we wouldn’t be talking about a dip. That said, if you don’t take your chances there’s always a chance the opposition will take theirs."

Aside from the attack, do you need greater focus in defence?

"We need to be more focused in both phases of the game. I think we’re the second-placed team in the league in terms of shots on goal received. We need to improve our defending and that starts with the forwards and then the midfielders. That was one of our biggest strengths last season so it’s something we need to work on."

Is Roma’s issue the fact that the team can’t go to the next level in terms of tempo?

"Our problem is that we’ve not won. You can’t be drawing when you’re two goals up. We need to improve – it’s not the first time it’s happened. There’s not that much to say. We need to work hard, pick ourselves up and kick on."

Is the team suffering from a mental block that’s preventing you from coming through this spell?

"I don’t think it’s a mental thing. We have experienced players who want to win. There have been a couple of times when we could have done better on a technical level. I don’t think the issue is mental. We need to be more clinical in attack and work on our defending."

How is the team physically?

"I think we’re good. We train really hard all week. It was very hot today and perhaps that was an issue for some, but in my eyes I think we’re doing well. I feel good physically. The improvement needs to come on the technical and mental sides of things."

You face Real Madrid on Wednesday. How do you prepare for that game after today?

"You don’t really have to prepare for it from a mental standpoint. The motivation comes naturally when you’re playing at the Bernabeu. It will be a tough one – we need to reset after today and go and play our game like we did in London last year. It’s important we play our own game without thinking about everything around us. We want to try to get a result."