New AS Roma coach Claudio Ranieri was delighted with their 2-1 win over Empoli.

Goals from Stephan El Shaarawy and Patrik Schick settled the game for Roma, though Alessandro Florenzi was sent off.

“I feel positive about the fact it was a difficult game, with so many players missing and others who have barely played this season, missing leaders who really give an identity to the team," Ranieri told Sky Sport Italia.

“I congratulate the team, because they remained solid and practically allowed no Empoli chances. I didn't understand what happened on the Empoli goal, because we knew they'd attempt a block on the marking. The second was disallowed, as you could see it hit his hand.

“I thank the fans, as they gave us a big hand this evening. I didn't expect us to play better, because this was a tense team that was anxious and still dealing with recent events. They conceded most of their goals this season by playing out from the back, so I told them to adopt a safety-first approach there.

“I do have some ideas on how to reduce the number of goals we concede, but I won't tell you what it is, otherwise that'll give it away.

“Let's say the leitmotif of my time here is to help Roma concede fewer goals, because it's just not possible for a team like this to leak that many goals. We have the quality to score sooner or later, so we must focus on not conceding."