Roma coach Rudi Garcia was full of frustration following his side’s 2-1 defeat at Milan on Saturday night.

The Giallorossi fell behind 2-0 after an hour and although captain Francesco Totti reduced the arrears in the 73rd minute, they failed to find the equaliser.

Despite the defeat, Roma held on to second place, which guarantees automatic quali-fication to next year’s Champions League, as rivals Lazio lost 2-1 to Inter last night.

“We didn’t do anything in 60 minutes,” the French boss told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “We started the game with a low rhythm that is not adequate for such an important game.

“This team has to react.

“Perhaps my players have not understood that there are few games left to play and the right path is the one we showed in our previous two matches, not what we did at Milan.”

Roma’s fifth loss of the campaign was all the more painful as Italy forward Mattia Destro, who joined Milan on loan from Roma in January, scored the Rossoneri’s second.

“These are the strange things about players out on loan,” Garcia said.

“In France, that rarely happens but in Italy it does.”

“We just need to focus on ourselves,” Garcia added. “We have less games now.

“We have three finals left to play, and not only to play them but to show high intensity to take three points in every match.”

Roma host Udinese next Sunday before playing at Lazio in the derby on May 24. Garcia’s side end the campaign at home to Palermo.