AS Roma coach Paulo Fonseca said he
took the blame for Thursday's 6-2 drubbing at Manchester United
in the first leg of their Europa League last-four tie, a defeat
that leaves Italy's last representative in European competition
little chance of reaching the final.
Roma looked like they might spring a surprise at Old Trafford as
they led 2-1 at half-time thanks to goals by Lorenzo Pellegrini
and Edin Dzeko after Bruno Fernandes opened the scoring for the
hosts.
But the English side took a big step towards the final by
scoring five unanswered goals after the break.
"After a first half performance like that, it's hard to explain
why the team came out again without the same aggression, giving
up too much space and making lots of mistakes," said Fonseca.
"When Manchester United scored their third goal we couldn't find
the mental strength to get back on our feet.
"It's a big positive to have reached the semi-finals, and the
first half performance shows that the squad can fight with
anyone - but in the second half we got it all wrong".
Fonseca said the second half was conditioned by the fact that
three first-half injuries - to Jordan Veretout, goalkeeper Pau
Lopez and Leonardo Spinazzola - meant he could not make any
substitutions after the break
But he added: "I am always the first person responsible. In
every moment.
"I don't want to make excuses.
"I'm just analysing what happened during the game. I won't shy
away from my responsibility",
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