Pellegrini: "We have to move forward and analyse the mistakes we made"

Here is what the Giallorossi captain had to say...

Roma conceded four goals from four shots in the first two games. Has the attention dropped a little compared to last season?

"I honestly don't know. The statistics are there for us all to see. They shouldn’t be an excuse, so it means that there is something to improve on and to do better. That's what we will do from tomorrow.

"It's not acceptable for a team like us to have one point from the first two league games. It will be important on Friday to perform well.”

I have the impression that these mistakes, especially in defensive, are unusual for this team. Maybe there's too much awareness?

"We always try to work our hardest. This does not refer to just one player, but the whole team. The action starts in their penalty area, an attacker must be good at understanding the situation.

"So it's not a situation involving one player or another; it's a team situation that we will analyse and attempt to resolve as soon as possible."

Did the fact that there was a lot of speculation about who might come in before this match affect you?

"Absolutely not. The coach and the team, as well as ourselves, think about working each day and giving our best effort. That was the case today. We don't need to repeat ourselves; we leave here with no points.

“We must analyse what we did wrong. The two goals we conceded and other aspects of the game. We'll have to attempt to stop conceding these counter-attacks. These few goal threats are hurting us right now.”

What was your feeling from inside the dressing room? Did you feel you could make a comeback?

"To comeback from a game is never easy. From my point of view, Roma dominated the game. Then, after conceding two goals in the first half, we had to comeback in the second half and score three. We kept pushing trying to score until the end.

Then there are the small details that make a difference. If my free-kick had gone in and we had made it 2-2 with a few minutes to go, perhaps 3-2 would have escaped us and we would be talking about a different game. In a game where we had 26 shots on goal, they had five, three of which were off target and two of which resulted in goals. So, there is little to talk about. We'll have to analyse our mistakes and make sure we don't do them again.”

Did the fact that the coach was not on the bench affect you at all?

"That's normal. You all understand the importance the coach is to us, how he acts as a mentor for all of us. Unfortunately, that's how it is now. This is the final game in which he will not be able to sit on the bench. The next one will be different for sure.

But that's also not an excuse for us. What I said before, the most important thing right now is to keep quiet and work even harder than before to avoid repeating the mistakes we made. Because there will be a lot of talking these days.”