AS Roma tried to make sense Wednesday of the 7-1 thrashing they took at Manchester United, the biggest defeat an Italian club has ever suffered in the Champions League.
One has to go back to the 1958-59 season, when Juventus lost 7-0 to Wiener SK of Austria in the old European Cup, to find a worse result than Tuesday's quarter-final rout at Old Trafford.
Roma coach Luciano Spalletti blamed bad luck and a touch of stage fright.
"We made a few mistakes, but it was also a bit coincidental because every time they shot, they scored," Spalletti said Wednesday.
"The environment gets to you and here in Manchester we showed inexperience, me first of all".
The Italian media praised an "extraordinary" Manchester United performance.
But pundits also accused Roma of falling victim to pride in thinking they could outclass their illustrious hosts with attacking football at their home ground.
Spalletti was blasted for failing to change his formation when Rodrigo Taddei injured himself in the pre-match warm-up. Instead he played Montenegro's Mirko Vucinic, an all-out striker, in the Brazilian's place in midfield.
"The aim was clear: to give the English a lesson in soccer," wrote Candido Cannavo' in La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"But if a divine team was on show, it was Manchester. And Roma generously contributed by opening up superbly to the biggest disaster in their history".
The individual players also came under fire, especially Brazilian goalkeeper Doni and Romanian defender Cristian Chivu, whose respective mistakes in the first and second Man Utd goals opened the floodgates.
"Players of international class and experience like Chivu, Philippe Mexes, Cristian Panucci and Daniele De Rossi suddenly became as fragile as debutants," wrote Mario Sconcerti in Corriere della Sera.
Spalletti predicted that Roma will recover quickly from the rout.
"I don't think there will be any repercussions because I know what these lads are like," he said.
Roma are in the final of the Italian Cup, so they can still win a trophy this season. They also are second in Serie A, although they are too far behind Inter Milan - 18 points - to have any realistic title hopes.
Spalletti suggested Wednesday that the club will have to invest in the transfer market if Roma are to do better in Europe next time.
"If we are going to develop further, we'll have to lay our hands on the squad and have the courage to change in order to grow," he said.
"It's not just a question of spending money, like Manchester, but also working well to find the right players".
Before Tuesday's match 18 people were arrested in incidents and clashes between rival fans, including seven Italians.
But the scale of the trouble was less than feared after knife attacks and a controversial police baton charge on Man Utd fans in the first leg in Rome last week.
With Roma out of the competition, Italy's hopes now lie with AC Milan, who take on Bayern Munich in Germany Wednesday night.
Indeed, the front-page headline of La Gazzetta dello Sport - Italy's top sports daily - read "You Take Care of It, Milan".
Milan must win or secure a high-scoring draw to go through as the first leg at the San Siro Stadium ended 2-2. If they do, they will meet Manchester United in the semi-final.
Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti is expected to use Filippo Inzaghi as a lone striker, even though there are doubts about the 33-year-old's fitness.
Ancelotti's attacking options are limited because Brazil star Ronaldo is cup-tied and Alberto Gildardino is suspended.
Even if Inzaghi is not 100%, Bayern are sure to be wary of him - he has scored against them five times in the last five seasons.
He also holds the Italian scoring record in European competitions with 55 strikes.
Some pundits have claimed that Milan now have the job of salvaging Serie A's credibility, after the No.2 team in the Italian league was so comprehensively beaten Tuesday.
But the president of the Italian Olympic Committee Gianni Petrucci rejected this Wednesday.
"One negative result for an Italian team cannot raise doubts about Italian soccer because we are the world champions," Petrucci said.
