De Rossi tells Roma to give up on Scudetto

Daniele De Rossi has told his Roma team-mates to forget about winning the Serie A title after losing 4-1 to Juventus on Saturday.

Zdenek Zeman’s side were roundly beaten by the Bianconeri thanks to a first-half blitz from Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, Alessandro Matri and a late strike from Sebastian Giovinco.

After the match, De Rossi admitted that while Juve were the better side, the Giallorossi should instead focus on qualifying for the Champions League rather than the Scudetto.

“It’s been a bad evening, we put on a poor showing against a team stronger than us,” the 29-year-old said.

“There is bitterness, we were hoping to do well in spite of the awareness of being inferior. The fact is we cannot (match) Juve, it is wrong to say that we can aim for the Scudetto.

“We must have a great season (in order) to return to Europe. We must compete with those who are at our level, but we need to start winning points (in general).

“They (Juventus) have a stronger unit, and a savagery that we are only showing in fits and spurts.”

Roma host Atalanta at the Olimpico next weekend.