Lazio 3-2 AS Roma
AS Roma coach Zeman reacts:
I don’t think we lost our shape in this match; we actually played our game in the first 20 minutes while the conditions still allowed us to do so. Then unfortunately, with all the rain that came down, my team wasn’t able to play as they know how. It’s always bad to lose the derby but I don’t think my lads ever gave up, and they nearly equalised through Marquinhos in the 93rd minute. The goals we conceded were more down to bad luck than the ability of our opponents, who were still good however.
De Rossi’s actions? I’m sorry about what he did. We studied how to face this game for two days. We shouldn’t have given the referee things like this to judge us on, but the derby is the derby and when you feel too charged up for it you pay. Our quest for the top spots? The season isn’t over yet. You said the same things about Inter after two games, but now they’re in second. We still have the possibility to play for them and move forward with our style of football. So far we’ve lost games because of silly mistakes or bad luck. I hope that our luck soon turns, case in point being the last play of the game when we couldn’t quite manage to find the equaliser.
It’s not my style to talk about bad luck? It’s strange that you would say that to me since both good and bad luck figure in to the sport. It’s nothing new. Am I using the rain as an excuse for the loss? It’s difficult for anyone to play in conditions like that. But perhaps even more so for us, since we always look for combination passing play, as opposed to teams that play the long ball.
Goicoechea’s error? It has to be pointed out that conditions were very wet and all the lights still weren’t back on after the blackout. I’d also be interested to see how they got that free kick, because I don’t believe there was a foul there. However, we didn’t do a good job keeping focused. Did Balzaretti suffer a lapse in concentration on Klose’s goal? I think there our defender went to cover a shot from Hernanes – which was unfortunately an erred shot since it stopped in the water – and then from that came the chance that made it 2-1.
Pjanic? He already explained what he said after the goal. The fans are displeased? Roma fans always feel close to their team and have dealt with defeats in the past, including in the derby. Of course these things burn more when they happen against Lazio, but I don’t think anyone’s going to change their team because of it. I hope the disappointment only lasts a week; we have to continue moving forward down our path.
