Di Francesco: Lack of consistency is driving me crazy too

The Giallorossi took an early 3-0 lead in the game - only for Gian Piero Gasperini's side to roar back in the second half to claim a share of the spoils.

Roma seemed to have made the step-up but today the team showed two sides to their game. What happened?

“Good question. In the first half the players did everything we had worked on: we knew that they tend to commit numbers in attack and leave it one-on-one at the back, so we decided to play very directly. I can’t fathom what went on in the second half and it’s not the first time this has happened.

"It’s something to do with the mental attributes of this team; we still need to work on this. Today we saw that the team hasn’t fully recovered yet. Full credit to Atalanta, but if you’re leading 3-0 you can’t ever let it get to 3-3.”

Does this team struggle when managing a scoreline?

“We can’t just set up camp in front of our own goal and let someone else do the work. In the first half, we were aggressive coming out of defence and counter-attacked with pace. However, after half-time we lost too many one-on-ones and gave away possession too frequently. If you do that against a team like them, they’ll kill you.

"We never had any consistency. Well done Atalanta, but there were a lot of things wrong with our game. The goal at the end of the first half was careless because it restored confidence and energy to a side that until that point were in trouble.”

The forwards were no longer in the game in the second half. What happened?

“It’s not just down to them, it’s a general issue. If you have a team that excels in individual duels like they do, you can’t afford not to be tidy in possession. We weren’t able to put the game to bed when we needed to. I should have reinforced the defence at a certain point because they were finding it too easy to put crosses in.

"What really drives me up the wall is that we lacked consistency, like against Cagliari, Torino on Sunday or in countless other occasions when we’ve managed to get back into games. You can’t always play well for a half, then at the first sign of difficulty hand over the initiative to the opposition.”

Was the team’s physical condition a factor as they faded? Should you have made some different changes?

“We were in the contest in the first half, but over the 90 minutes we weren’t. Some players coming off the back of injuries were finding it difficult. I played Nicolo Zaniolo on the wing and he did brilliantly there. He gave us stamina and flexibility in this area of the pitch. I wouldn’t get bogged down in the substitutions. There are a lot of reasons why we ended the game like we did.”