Daniele De Rossi saw the ‘switch in mentality and belief’ when Roma converted a penalty, warning they ‘should’ve reacted earlier’ in the 2-1 defeat to Atalanta.
It has been a nightmare couple of weeks for the Giallorossi, who picked up just two points from their last four Serie A games and were eliminated from the Europa League semi-final by Bayer Leverkusen.
With Paulo Dybala and Leonardo Spinazzola injured too, it was not the best way to go into a showdown for fifth place with Atalanta in Bergamo, and they conceded two early goals from Charles De Ketelaere.
The importance of the psychological aspect was evident, as Roma were revitalised after Lorenzo Pellegrini’s penalty and threatened to equalise.
“There was a reaction after the penalty, but we should’ve reacted earlier,” De Rossi told DAZN.
“Although Atalanta are strong and go twice as fast as many teams in Europe, there is a psychological element and we need to find that within us, because we cannot wait for a penalty to let us back in.
“We shook off the tension then and fought back, but we continue to concede too many goals and that’s not good. That penalty woke us up and made us regain some belief.”
De Rossi introduced Tammy Abraham at half-time with Edoardo Bove and seemed to shake things up.
“We had planned a more direct approach than the one we took. We knew that we needed to support Romelu with vertical passes and that hardly ever worked in the first half, so I thought with another reference point in attack like Abraham, we could do more damage.
“However, it was not a tactical change that I saw, but a mental one after the penalty. Despite not deserving it, we found ourselves back in the game and we changed gear for the last half-hour, creating chances.
“I like possession, but not if it is for its own sake, you have to draw the opponents out of shape to create spaces.”
De Rossi refuses to accept excuses
This result leaves them three points adrift of fifth-placed Atalanta and La Dea have a game in hand to be played against Fiorentina on June 2.
Not only are Roma now chasing the Champions League places, they are only one point clear of rivals Lazio in seventh.
“We need to rediscover some of the energy we lost, we need to at least get sixth place, especially as the lads deserve it. Taking on an Atalanta side in this shape is incredibly difficult and facing the last few games has been a real obstacle for the players,” added De Rossi.
“Strong teams play every three days, it’s not as if Atalanta rested any more than we did, quite the opposite. They go twice as hard, so if we want to play at their level, we need to increase our stamina and cannot cling to the idea of fatigue.”
All the way through this season, even under Jose Mourinho, the problem has been evident as Roma picked up just two out of a possible 30 points against the top five in Serie A.
They were draws against Atalanta for Mou and Juventus for De Rossi.
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