Pioli: "Roma took their chances better than us"

MILAN - Stefano Pioli was left to rue Inter's lack of cutting edge after watching his side succumb to Roma at the Meazza on Sunday night.

Speaking to journalists after the Nerazzurri's 3-1 defeat at the Meazza, the boss admitted: "It's not the result we wanted but we knew we were up against a great team. It was a tough match and pretty even in terms of ball possession and chances had. Roma simply took their chances better and we only took one of ours."

On Miranda's absence: “He's an important player and we know that but we wanted to maintain the same approach, attacking down the flanks and winning the duels in midfield with dynamic players who possess good defensive attributes too.

“We were set up ok when they scored their goals; they were just a bit smarter than us on those occasions.”

On the refereeing decisions: “I don't want to comment on the refereeing because it doesn't alter how we assess our own work. We played well enough but should have done better in a few situations – especially in the first half.

“During the interval I spoke to the lads about our ball possession, our pace and movement. We wanted to make it hard for them to pick us up, and cause more problems for them in one-on-one situations, but our off-the-ball movement wasn't so good in the first half.”

On Inter's target for the rest of the season: “Our aim is to try and win as many games as possible. We've lost an important match but there are another 12 left to play and we must immediately turn our attentions to the next one and get going again.”