De Rossi: “A group of top professionals who really love this club”

 This is what the boss had to say after the match...

What did you say in your half-time team talk? Because they came back out much more determined.

“The same thing I said after the Verona game – that if we move the ball around slowly, without trying to break through their lines, then we'll never shoot. And if we never shoot, we'll lose a lot of games.

“If, on the other hand, we try to take charge of the game, to be in control, and if when we see an opening we shoot and swoop into the box like vultures, then we're a very good team.

“We have to work on reading the different moments of the match – when to go for it and when to wait a bit.”

You pointed to Mile Svilar when Paulo Dybala scored the penalty. Was that about where he was going to put it?

“No, sometimes I mess around with the lads on the bench. I asked if he was going to score and he said, 'Of course he'll score – it's Dybala.' It was just messing around!”

Your players didn't go past their man very often today. They seemed to be lacking the desire to do that.

“That's another thing we spoke about at half time. You can talk about formations, ball possession, counter-attacks and all manner of things in football, but you have to win the one-on-ones – both when you have the ball and when your opponents have it. That's all what matters. Everything else is postulation.

“If the lads aren't able to win the one-on-ones, it's my fault. I have to give them the tools to understand when it's the right time to try something. Then they'll win the one-on-ones because they're technically gifted and have quality.

“Once I make them understand they need to read the different moments of the game... then when they have the ball, they'll make it count, as they've done before.”

Are you happy with Romelu Lukaku's performance? Was his movement good? Did he not get the right service?

“In the first half he was the only one who stretched our opponents a bit. When we managed to move the ball around, he was able to make those runs in behind and we didn't give him much service. It's also true that when our possession play was too slow – they were playing with three centre-backs – there was no space for him. When we do better in possession, if he finds that gap for a through ball, he's lethal if you can feed him in the box.

“He struggled and toiled for the team and helped more than in the Verona game. He dropped back a bit when we had to roll our sleeves up. I'm pleased. When you see a winner like him scrapping away, jostling, trying to keep the ball till the end, it's a delight to see. That's the spirit we want."

When Salernitana scored their goal, your players were positioned well. What happened there?

“We need a bit of time to work on these things. The lads have spent the last three years playing with three men in the area, three centre-backs, and you split the space up a bit differently. One day we work on being out of possession, another day on our line, another on closing down, another on getting the midfielders to take up positions in front of the two central defenders. We don't have much time and we haven't worked a lot on these things so they find themselves with space to cover.

“Now we'll have more time to analyse that. But before bringing Dean [Huijsen] on and switching to five – at 2-1 – when we were a bit more careful and ready because we knew they could make it 2-2, we didn't give them a sniff.

“So it's a mix of both things. We need to work on positioning when we're defending crosses from the byline. We've done that but not enough. But we need to be really careful because against good teams like Salernitana you can lose points.”

Lorenzo Pellegrini produced a big goal and a big performance tonight.

“I don't like talking about individuals because lots of them played with real heart. I couldn't think of a better captain in these circumstances, for the way he welcomed me, regardless of the friendship we've always had and will always have. He's professional, hard-working, he involves his team-mates and helps them.

“I wasn't part of the club and I'm not the sort to stick my nose in: I didn't call or didn't sneak in. I'm not a nosy person. I've heard lots of things in the last few years. I've come back in and found a group of top lads, real professionals who really love this club, as we all do. And Lorenzo is a worthy captain for this team.”