Gian Piero Gasperini, Roma's coach, admitted that his team did not deliver the required performance in the 13th round match of the Italian league against Napoli, which ended with the latter winning 1-0 thanks to a goal by David Neres.

Gasperini said: "Such incidents can be interpreted in different ways, and I don't think it was entirely clear, because the player raised his foot after touching the ball and collided with Kone's leg. We often see many similar sliding tackles counted as fouls."

He continued: "Anyway, we were badly unbalanced in that moment, with Hermoso and Mancini out of their positions, as well as the full-backs, so there were mistakes on our part in that situation that we should not have allowed. It was our fault, the only time we allowed that counterattack, even in the second half when we were chasing the result."

He added: "We have played many matches where we conceded very few goals, and besides that, when you defend deep, you expose yourself to other types of goals. We entered this match as league leaders thanks to our style of play, but naturally, there must be balance and coverage, which we did not achieve in that moment."

He went on: "Napoli did not get many chances either, but what disappointed us was that we lacked the required energy. We paid a heavy price for Thursday's Europa League match, and we did not have the proper rhythm, nor did we move the ball quickly enough. Unfortunately, we suffered many absences today, and we failed to play as we wanted in this big match."

He added: "Every match was different from the other, the pace was slower from both teams, and the match was not as enjoyable as we have recently been used to. It is a regrettable loss; we did not have the necessary energy. The season is very long, and the competition at the top is intense, almost like a knockout tournament due to the importance of every result and the number of competing teams. We now have a week to prepare and rest, then we will return to playing every three days. We must learn from such matches and benefit from them in the future."