Gasperini has Roma regret with Juventus: ‘Season full of these situations’
Gian Piero Gasperini reveals his bitter regret after Roma fumbled a 3-1 lead to draw 3-3 with Juventus. ‘Our season is full of these situations in the final minutes.’
The Giallorossi have struggled to win the ‘big’ games in Serie A this season, but thought that curse had been broken when leading 3-1 through Wesley, Evan Ndicka and Donyell Malen.
However, they conceded twice in the final 12 minutes plus stoppages, both from crosses knocked on to the back post, as Jeremie Boga and Federico Gatti allowed Juventus to snatch a point.
Gasperini sees where it went wrong for Roma
“The first goal was on a free kick too, we were too passive again,” Gasperini smiled bitterly on DAZN Italia.
“We were in the right positions, but our season is full of these situations in the final minutes, where teams like Juve, Milan, Inter and Napoli manage to get games back on track in the final minutes or even stoppages.
“They throw players forward who are good in the air and on set plays, they picked up a lot of points in these situations. They deserve congratulations for that, but we also could’ve done better, as our defending was too static, when we should’ve been aggressive.”
Yet again, Roma play very well against the top teams, but never quite manage to get a result over the line, despite scoring three goals this time.
“Defending a little deeper is not a bad thing when you have a player like Malen, as that is how he scored the third goal. We should’ve been more physical, so taking Cristante off robbed us of our best player in the air.
“The two goals were very similar, long balls pumped into the box and flicked on to the back post, where we were too passive. That is what we must reproach ourselves for, but not seeking anything else.”
The free kick given away by Neil El Aynaoui on Pierre Kalulu for the equaliser was also avoidable, as Roma have conceded nine of their 19 goals from dead-ball situations this season.
“That’s true, but don’t forget we scored on a corner too. The problem is that a set play was the only way Juve were going to be dangerous, as even when we defended a little deeper, they rarely created chances.”
This result means Roma slide back down to fourth place, now two points behind Napoli, and Como climb into fifth with only a three-point gap from the Giallorossi.
With Inter so far out in front, the fight for those Champions League qualifying spots looks as if it will go down to the wire.
“Obviously, a win here would’ve put us seven points clear of Juventus and represented a big step forward, but we are still up there,” added Gasperini.
“We are in the race, we put in an extraordinary performance, and this result should not knock us down.”