Gasperini’s comments following Cagliari v Roma

Here is what the Roma coach had to say.

Would you like to say anything about the refereeing decisions that Luca Marelli commented on in the studio?

“You can see what happened. Everything that needed to be said has already been said. So I think it’s all pretty clear.”

Would you like to add anything?

“No. In this case I think everything is quite clear. Unlike in other matches, like last Sunday against Napoli.”

The first half was very balanced. On the other hand, in the second half, that red card in the 52^nd minute forced you to change your plans. That’s when Cagliari started to push forward a bit, while Roma sometimes struggled to contain the opponent and start new attacks. Then you made that double substitution and in the end you switched to playing long balls up to the striker but struggled to follow it up.

“Yes, the game got hard with a one-man disadvantage, although we avoided any major risks for quite a while. But it was hard to build anything substantial. We had some counter-attacks, but with the wind and that type of game, it felt more like a battle than a football match. Building something was hard and we certainly made some sloppy mistakes that cost us the match: while defending, when our player got sent off and when we conceded the goal. Of course, when we were left with 10 players it all got difficult.”

From a competitive point of view, would you say that the team showed less grit compared to their usual games?

“Well… they often relied on long balls and we should’ve done more from a technical point of view. It wasn’t easy because Cagliari, like many other teams at this stage of the season, are really giving it their all. We didn’t improve our technical performance in the first half, although we largely dominated the game. We were unable to make it a technical game. In the second half we had the conditions to do so, but that red card changed the match.”

Did you try to calm down the players who got upset towards the end of the game? For example Mario Hermoso.

“At a certain point it no longer looked like a football match. It was more of a battle, with many interruptions, and it lacked flow. We were unable to equalise; we certainly could’ve with 11 players. Some games go the way this one did. Perhaps the best we could have done was see the game out, but still we made some sloppy mistakes, even though everyone played their best despite the difficulties. We weren't able to adapt very well.”