'Like a body with a new organ!' - Daniele De Rossi claims Roma players are 'rejecting' Jose Mourinho's tactics after seeing formation tweak backfire against Fiorentina

Roma came back from behind twice to secure a point against Fiorentina in a Serie A clash on Sunday. The Giallorossi started the match in a 3-5-2 formation but after conceding a goal in the first half, manager De Rossi decided to switch to a more attacking 4-3-3 formation, which according to him helped the club avoid a defeat. The Italian further claimed that his players have completely rejected Mourinho's defensive tactics.

Speaking to reporters after the game, De Rossi said: "We have to analyse when things aren’t working and the fact is after each of the Europa League games, we had a bad first half in the next Serie A match. And every time I moved to a three-man defence and saw improvements. Well, I tried it from the start this time and evidently, that’s not the issue.

"Whenever I saw the team running on empty, I tried to move them back to a system they used for many years and felt comfortable with. I remember they were very difficult to score against when playing with five at the back."

He added: "However, maybe they are rejecting that system now, like a body with a new organ! I felt like we could win it when we equalised and conceding the second goal was against the run of play, that could knock the wind out of our sails, but the penalty save kept us alive."

Since the club parted ways with Mourinho and appointed De Rossi as his successor, they have won six out of the eight Serie A games they have played. The sudden rise in form under the Italian manager has helped Roma move up to the fifth position in the league and they are now just three points behind fourth-placed Bologna.

De Rossi's men will be next seen in action in the Europa League on Thursday as they take on Brighton in the second leg of their round of 16 fixture, having won the first leg 4-0 at home.