Roma coach Paulo Fonseca was furious with his players after a 4-1 defeat to Atalanta. ‘The second half was men against boys. The attitude changed completely and that cannot happen.’

Edin Dzeko had put the Giallorossi in front in Bergamo after a couple of minutes, then Leonardo Spinazzola hit the post, but Roma slowly vanished from the game and were over-run after the break.

Roma coach Paulo Fonseca was furious with his players after a 4-1 defeat to Atalanta. ‘The second half was men against boys. The attitude changed completely and that cannot happen.’

Edin Dzeko had put the Giallorossi in front in Bergamo after a couple of minutes, then Leonardo Spinazzola hit the post, but Roma slowly vanished from the game and were over-run after the break.

“I don’t want to seek alibis. The team played with great intensity in the first half, but our second half was childish, it was men against boys,” Fonseca told Sky Sport Italia.

“The team was stretched out, not aggressive, and that is fatal against a side like Atalanta. It wasn’t physical, it was psychological, a question of attitude.

“We played well for 25 minutes, then changed attitude completely. That cannot happen.”

Roma have shown a tendency to lose heavily in the big games, also conceding four against Napoli.

“We want to win every game and if the team had kept the attitude of the first half, we may well have won. However, playing like we did in the second half makes it extremely difficult to take points off big opponents,” said a visibly irritated Fonseca.

“It was just totally different after the break. The team went too deep, showed no aggression, no determination. There was no reason for it.

“We must make sure the players understand they cannot change their attitude like that. We made it too easy for Atalanta. Without aggression, you cannot win this type of match.”

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