Gasperini's comments after Roma v Lille

This is what the boss had to say...

What did you like and what didn't you like about tonight?

“I've never seen three penalties missed one after another like that before. We conceded an early opener and created the conditions for them to play their game in – using pace in space. I think, apart from a few technical mistakes, we played with grit and intensity. We kept trying to get back in it till the end, albeit playing into their hands at times. This is European football. We weren't able to make the most of the opportunities we had. However, you always take something away from these games: you learn and improve.”

How do you explain those three missed penalties? Is there a reason for it?

“I don't know. It's a completely unique, random situation – something you hardly ever see. It obviously affected the result. We pushed hard in the second half and ran a few risks. The lads produced a huge effort and maintained a high tempo. Of course that penalty could have changed the outcome. But we shouldn't see the defeat as all negative. I think we'll come out of this match with something positive.”

What have you learnt from this game? What's your takeaway?

“In the modern game if you make mistakes you get punished. We battled away but didn't threaten much in attack, and our attacks were often sporadic. It's not easy against Lille because they play on the break. We weren't consistent enough in the second half. They're fast and good technically so it wasn't easy to close them down. We played at a high intensity but technical errors make the difference. We have to make fewer mistakes playing out. That said, I must look at the positive things too – there were some good performances. We're playing lots of games and we don't have the tension you get in knockout matches. We're a little less focused but the team did well till the end.”

Do you think the fallout might affect Artem Dovbyk and Evan Ferguson?

“This is sport. You don't let it get to you. You make mistakes but you can't get beaten up about it. We're playing back to back games and we'll be back in action on Sunday. This is football. You put it behind you and move on, whatever the result.”

Who will recover for Florence? Frederic Massara said Paulo Dybala might make it.

“I don't know. We'll see tomorrow. He hasn't trained with the team yet. Perhaps Massara knows something I don't, but I don't think so... [smiling].”