Luciano Spalletti thought he’d “make a more immediate impact” on Roma’s mentality and said Francesco Totti could start against Palermo.
The Giallorossi host Palermo on Sunday at 19.45 GMT, click here for a match preview.
“We begin again by analysing what happened against Real Madrid, analysing the preparation, what went well or badly,” said the Coach in a Press conference.
Luciano Spalletti thought he’d “make a more immediate impact” on Roma’s mentality and said Francesco Totti could start against Palermo.
The Giallorossi host Palermo on Sunday at 19.45 GMT, click here for a match preview.
“We begin again by analysing what happened against Real Madrid, analysing the preparation, what went well or badly,” said the Coach in a Press conference.
The Champions League first leg tie ended 2-0 to the Spaniards at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday evening.
“The important thing is to analyse everything out in the open, without hiding any good or bad moments. We did some good things to build on, but also many negative ones.
“I must admit I expected to have a more immediate impact on their mentality at the start, but instead we took quite a few days more to understand what mechanisms were working.
“There were also some doubts in the games we won, as we always left ourselves exposed to the opposition. I am fairly happy with the work of the team, as we’re doing things the right way and the situations are progressing.
“All these elements give us the faith and strength for the future.”
Miralem Pjanic appears to have lost his way in recent months, especially in a deeper playmaker role.
“Mire is a player with immense quality. It’s true he was below par against Real Madrid, but he ran really hard and did what I hoped would not happen. My plan was to keep more possession than Real Madrid, but if you don’t then that means running around after the ball.
“Pjanic was forced into work that used up a lot of energy and inevitably dampened his quality. It can be read that way, but he also can and must do more.”
There was some tension on the touchline when Totti’s substitution was delayed, while Edin Dzeko was benched against Real Madrid.
“We get all the players to warm up in rotation. I asked my assistant to go and call him over, but perhaps there was a misunderstanding. I went to speak to him, it’s all normal.
“I consider Totti to be on the same level as the others and it’s important he does too, because our objective is a team result. I am convinced he can give an immense contribution in terms of quality to the team and he needs to feel within the group, otherwise there’s the risk they won’t follow his lead.
“Recently Totti has been training consistently and in my view he’s ready to play. There is the possibility he could start tomorrow.
“When you are a Coach at a side like Roma, unfortunately people do need to get left on the bench. I can’t expect them to be happy about it, and if anything it’s a sign of their readiness to spur on the others.
“Dzeko could play tomorrow, it could be Totti, it could be both. If you put both in your line-up, it’s wise.
“Mohamed Salah has this blistering change of pace and he can keep that up for a long while, but then he runs out of gas in the final five metres.
“I’ve had players who can only do one sprint like that and then need ages to recover, but Salah can do two easily. The Real Madrid game shows he can give us an important contribution and we also need him to win this delicate match against Palermo.”