Bordeaux see positives in defeat

Red card
Yoann Gourcuff's splendid 18th-minute opener was in keeping with the enterprising opening made by the hosts, whose dynamic football contrasted vividly with their insipid display away to Chelsea FC a fortnight ago. Yet their hopes were dealt a severe blow when Brazilian defender Henrique was shown a red card on 36 minutes, and Roma subsequently surged to a 3-1 triumph thanks to Mirko Vučinić's equaliser and a double from substitute Júlio Baptista.

'Many positives'
Stand-in captain Alou Diarra said the Bordeaux players felt "bitterly disappointed" in the dressing room afterwards, yet refused to offer too negative a verdict on the display. "We started really well and posed Roma lots of problems," the France midfielder told uefa.com. "People definitely saw a better Bordeaux tonight than the one that played against Chelsea. We might not have got the result, but it's important we focus on the many positives." Diarra's principal regret was Bordeaux's inability to pick up Vučinić at a 64th-minute corner. He said: "We were looking so solid at that point but we let ourselves down at a set-piece. We're making too many mistakes and have to start learning the lessons."

'Hard to accept'
Right-back Matthieu Chalmé was also keen to highlight the improvement in Bordeaux's play, saying: "We wanted to make sure we fought hard and competed with Roma. I think we succeeded in that objective." The 27-year-old continued: "We've suffered two defeats but the performances haven't been the same at all. We didn't turn up at Chelsea, whereas tonight we saw a much more competitive Bordeaux. That makes the defeat even harder to accept."

Menez delight
One of the few Frenchmen celebrating at the final whistle was Roma winger Jérémy Menez. The French Under-21 international struggled to make an impact on his UEFA Champions League debut, making way for Baptista on 51 minutes, yet was nevertheless delighted with his team's success. "We were really clinical in the second half and that's why we won the game," the former AS Monaco FC forward enthused. "After losing our first game [2-1 at home to CFR 1907 Cluj] we knew we couldn't leave Bordeaux empty-handed. It wasn't a great performance but the three points could launch our campaign."

'A strong team'
Bordeaux, meanwhile, must now turn their attention to a double-header with CFR Cluj, surprise joint-leaders in the section. Six points will almost certainly be required from those two encounters if last season's Ligue 1 runners-up are to rekindle their qualifying hopes, although Diarra concedes the odds are now stacked against them. "Cluj are clearly a strong team so it's going to be hard," the 27-year-old midfielder said. "Our chances have taken a major hit, but so long as it's mathematically possible we have to keep going. We need to win our next game then start picking up points on the road."