8 hours ago
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Roma boss Gian Piero Gasperini admitted to being ‘very disappointed’ by the loss against AC Milan, but took some positives too.
In truth, Gasperini must have been incredibly frustrated that his side did not take the lead at San Siro, given that they were well on top for the opening half an hour. They never created a massive opportunity but spurned a lot of half-chances, after a period of immense pressure.
Milan hurt them at the other end not long before the break, with Rafael Leao setting up Strahinja Pavlovic for the only goal in the game. The Rossoneri also fluffed some huge chances to double their lead, then had Mike Maignan to thank for a late penalty save on Paulo Dybala.
Gasperini spoke to DAZN after the full-time whistle to share his assessments after a frustrating night for his side in which they left empty-handed after a game they were well on top in. MilanNews relayed his thoughts.
What went wrong?
“I find it hard to try to pinpoint the one thing that cost us. It’s better to look at what went wrong – so many things, really. This is the path we want to take. When you come away from these games, you’re very disappointed about the result, but we’re also confident we can get points by playing this way.”
You made some changes…
“I think we made a qualitative leap tonight, but not in our finishing. We played a strong first half against a team that’s strong on their home field. I’m struggling to find any negatives. We’re very disappointed with the result.
“Unfortunately, penalties and chances were also missed by a hair’s breadth, but the team played in a variety of ways tonight. There are many games within the same game, and we interpreted them well.”
Dybala didn’t convert the penalty…
“The worst thing of all, beyond the penalty, is the injury he suffered on that occasion. We’ll see when he can recover, certainly after the break. It’s a shame because he was playing like the great player he is, and this is the biggest loss tonight.”
Is the glass half full?
“Yes, in these games we’ve lost, we definitely need to improve the decisive factors, but overall, the team is there. Missing four out of five penalties has penalised us in recent months, and it’s taken a lot away from us both in the league and in Europe.
“I see many top teams finding the decisive moment in the final minutes. Many top teams resort to this, and we lack these two things: penalties and the ability to capitalise on the chances we create.
“The best lesson, I was thinking about it today… We were playing a match in Pisa at the end of the season to secure promotion. It was a decisive match, and towards the end I made three or four passes to the goalkeeper, who could still have grabbed it with his hands to hold the tie.
“He told me that we didn’t resort to those tricks, but that we played games until the end. It was a great lesson.”
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