Luciano Spalletti insists “there was no warning and therefore we couldn’t prevent” the red cards as Roma crashed out of the Champions League to Porto.
Thomas Vermaelen was sent off during the 1-1 first leg draw, but Daniele De Rossi and Emerson Palmieri left them down to nine men in tonight’s 3-0 home defeat.
Luciano Spalletti insists “there was no warning and therefore we couldn’t prevent” the red cards as Roma crashed out of the Champions League to Porto.
Thomas Vermaelen was sent off during the 1-1 first leg draw, but Daniele De Rossi and Emerson Palmieri left them down to nine men in tonight’s 3-0 home defeat.
“What happened is we lost a very important match that will change the season going forward and we are going to have to deal with that,” the Coach told Mediaset Premium.
“We didn’t control the ball well, which was what I had been planning and why I made certain choices. We didn’t manage it, just as we were re-organising ourselves after the goal, we went down to 10 and it all became more difficult.
“The three red cards were naïve, because finishing the games with 11 men was our characteristic last season. We never gave the referee the chance to send us off. Now it’s happening a lot and I can’t understand why, as we could’ve been a lot calmer.”
De Rossi was the surprise pick at centre-back with Leandro Paredes in midfield.
“We reached the tie with quite a few injuries and I chose De Rossi as a centre-back because he could keep the ball better and has the qualities to play there. It may well be one of his future roles, for the way he interprets the midfield position.
“We lost the ball too often with silly errors, which were unforced, and that made Porto feel more comfortable to play their game. We got irritated, as we were unable to move the ball around well, then after the goal and red card it all fell apart.
“It’s not possible in two legs of a play-off to be down to 10 men after 40 minutes.”
Going back, what would Spalletti change when preparing for this game?
“I wouldn’t change anything, other than the way tonight’s game started. We didn’t start well, misplaced too many passes and they took advantage of our errors. Above all there were psychological issues, as we felt tense and couldn’t get a grip on the game.
“We did have the chances to equalise, even with nine against 11, until those two late goals finished the tie off.
“There will be a period of time that is going to be very difficult. People will try to poke the finger of blame, we must cover our ears, eyes and even noses.
“We’ve got to get the blinkers on and focus on incredible effort, concentration and sharing of values.”
The Coach seemed stunned by the three dismissals in two games against Porto.
“We can list the 15-16 games from last season where we didn’t get any red cards. This is new to me. And the first to get red cards were experienced players with quality, as Vermaelen was the first to go and he had been with us for three days.
“It’s a new thing for me, but the team until this moment had never interpreted the game this way. We have our own rules and commandments, which includes no tolerance for those who leave their teammates down to 10 men.
“We are accustomed to behaving very differently. The last week represented a strange and different epilogue. We had no warning this was going to happen, so we couldn’t prevent it.”