Paulo Fonseca says Roma ‘cannot deny’ they have a problem facing the big clubs after defeat to Milan and particularly playing out from the back.

The Giallorossi lost their first Serie A home game of the season, as Jordan Veretout’s strike was not enough, cancelled out by a Franck Kessie penalty and Ante Rebic moment of quality.

Paulo Fonseca says Roma ‘cannot deny’ they have a problem facing the big clubs after defeat to Milan and particularly playing out from the back.

The Giallorossi lost their first Serie A home game of the season, as Jordan Veretout’s strike was not enough, cancelled out by a Franck Kessie penalty and Ante Rebic moment of quality.

“We started the game very badly, mainly because we struggled under Milan’s high press when playing out from the back. We had the first 20 minutes wrong and that is never a good idea against a side like Milan.

“After that, we balanced it out, it was a much more even game and we created a lot of scoring opportunities, but the first 20 minutes were wrong.”

Henrikh Mkhitaryan was fuming after his penalty appeals were rejected, instead the foul given against him when wrestling with Theo Hernandez.

Fonseca was asked about the refereeing, but shrugged off the question.

“It’s easy to find excuses after the game. I didn’t like what happened, but I don’t want excuses.”

On the Rebic goal, Pau Lopez was at fault for poor distribution.

“Pau was alone without pressure, he could’ve played it anywhere. It’s difficult to explain what happened. I don’t think Gianluca Mancini could’ve done more, Rebic deserves credit for the turn, the problem was the first pass. We have given away goals like that often against the run of play.

“When we started the game, the team was losing the ball too much playing out from the back, which allowed Milan to keep pushing us back.

“We were too passive defensively in those situations. After the break, we ran a few risks, as we were losing, and some more spaces opened up for Milan, but I still maintain the first half was the real issue. We gave it away too easily and that allowed Milan to constantly be around our penalty area.

“We know that when they get the ball back, Milan are very quick on the counter, so we cannot make those mistakes.

“However, I don’t just want to say these are individual errors. It’s about organisation in the first phase of building out from the back. We didn’t move with the right kind of unity.”

Roma continue their remarkable record of failing to beat the big clubs, which could have a serious impact on the fight for the top four, as their head-to-head records with all the other sides are terrible.

“It’s difficult to understand. It’s always details, we’re missing something against the big clubs. We cannot deny that, it’s a fact that we do not beat the big teams.”

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