Roma's Zeman rues 'terrible' defeat at the hands of Juventus

Sep 30, 2012 1:40:00 AM

The Czech tactician conceded his opponents on the night were better in every aspect, admitting that his players never really settled into the game and deservedly lost

Zdenek Zeman was deeply disappointed with Roma's 4-1 loss at the hands of Juventus, but insisted that his team are still a work in progress and were accordingly outplayed by 'superior' opposition.

The Giallorossi conceded three goals in quick succession during the first half, and although they clawed one back via a penalty in the second period, the coach noted his players never quite managed to recover.

"Juventus were superior throughout," Zeman said at the post-match press conference. "Roma are improving, but this game was terrible."

"We neither attacked nor defended effectively, and so were constantly under pressure. Tonight, I saw very little of what we do during training, although we are still a work in progress.

"Conceding three goals rapidly would have knocked any team out. Maybe they were so intimidating we forgot how to implement our ideas."

Zeman defended his decision to swap Pescara for the Italian capital in the summer, despite watching his team stutter in terms of performances lately.

"I am happy to be at Roma and am sure we will express ourselves eventually. We will learn from games like these in due course.

"I hope the players realise they were too sluggish tonight, and didn't do enough."

Roma sit in eighth place in Serie A after two defeats, two draws and just two wins so far this term.