Daniele De Rossi offered a frank assessment of Roma’s 2-1 triumph over Lazio, making no attempt to hide his joy at beating the Giallorossi’s cross-town rivals while warning that Roma still have a lot to improve on.

You had to sweat for it but you got there in the end. How does it feel?
“We had to work really hard today but it just shows you how much desire there is in this group. We had to dig really deep to come through it. Apart from our desire there wasn’t an awful lot to write home about today. The main thing is the win means we’ll start over in the Champions League so we can celebrate now, enjoy ourselves and enjoy the bragging rights too. But we also need to realize that we’re a bit crap sometimes. We must get off to a strong start with clear ideas next season, otherwise it’s going to be hard because our rivals are getting stronger.”

The people who said you and Lazio would be happy with a draw were proved wrong…
“It’s tough for Lazio now. I must say that personally I wouldn’t have been displeased with a draw because the way Lazio have been playing recently they did have me a bit worried, if I’m honest. With a draw we’d have had to finish the job against Palermo while they wouldn’t have had anything to worry about against Napoli. If we’d seen them sitting back and waiting a bit more perhaps we’d have done likewise. We did do that but then we broke forward because we have players who can win the game for you in an instant on the counter. Having said that, there are still a lot of things we need to work on.”

Did you expect Iturbe to disprove his doubters on such a big occasion?
“Ask Simone Beccaccioli [Roma’s video analyst] who I said would score today, and who I predicted would score in the first derby. I got it right both times! I just had this feeling. The boy has had to take a lot. He hasn’t produced his best football yet but he’s very talented and very young. This city is full of ‘accountants’ who are constantly reminding him of his price tag – one day it was €20 million, then it was 25, then 40… That sort of thing can affect a young kid a bit.”

This was your 25th derby. I bet the adrenaline was really pumping in those last 12 minutes, wasn’t it?
“Yeah, it’s easier to control your emotions before kick-off and at the start if you use your head properly. But once you get into the game it’s just a rush and it doesn’t stop afterwards either – whether it’s the joy of victory or the disappointment of a defeat.”