Fonseca reflects on disappointing display

The Giallorossi lost 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico, with Dries Mertens getting both the goals midway through the first half.

It’s not the first time Roma have struggled like this. What is your explanation?

“Perhaps we don’t have the mentality required to compete against these sort of teams. In the first half the team looked to me to be without courage, without the right attitude – and in the second half it was completely different. In the second half we wanted to take the initiative and it was a very different game.”

Who should take responsibility?

“We are all responsible. But when we are afraid of losing, or afraid of playing, it all becomes a lot harder. In the second half, though, the side showed what they are capable of.”

Does this show what the true capabilities of this side are?

“If we had not played the way we did in the second half, then I could stand here and say that it is a matter of quality. But that’s not the case. Why did we not show that same ability in the first half? In the second half we played most of the game in the Napoli half and we didn’t let them create chances. We had a completely different attitude compared to the first half.”

Roma need to find that attitude - there is still Champion League football to fight for?

"Yes, we have to continue to battle away. But if we play like we did in the first half today, it's going to be tough. It's hard to accept the difference between the two halves. This squad can do it. Tiredness isn't an excuse, because in the second half the team had a completely different intensity."

In the changing room, do you interrogate each other on why you struggle against top sides in the league but seem to show their quality in Europe?

“Clearly. It’s not easy to press this Napoli side. But it is hard to explain why we cannot maintain the same approach for the full 90 minutes. It’s true that this issue with not beating the big teams has added pressure on us, but we are the only ones who can change this. We cannot accept not going out there with the right attitude.”

Playing with two in midfield, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Amadou Diawara, Roma always had trouble in the middle of the pitch.

“I think the main tactical issue we had in the first half was that we allowed the ball to be passed down the wings without applying pressure – especially on the right. And then, when we dropped deeper, they had space to move the ball around. But it was a game with few clear-cut opportunities. We lacked aggression down the flanks.”

Will you look at the preparation again, to try and address these highs and lows?

“We don’t have a lot of time to prepare for games. We are preparing for them in one day. But we need to understand that, against sides of this quality, if we lack that desire to win then everything is going to be a lot harder.”