Roma coach Rudi Garcia was full of praise for Sassuolo after yesterday's 2-2 draw.
The visitors were in impressive form in the early stages of the game as they took a 2-0 lead but failed to keep the advantage late on in the game despite Roma having Daniele De Rossi sent off.
"There are always regrets when a team concedes in the last part of the game," Garcia said on Sassuolo.
"But I congratulate [Sassuolo coach] Eusebio [Di Francesco], he's a very good coach, we knew his side were in form and for us it was not easy to take one point after conceding twice in the first half.
"We showed character and intensity."
The Frenchman said his side were not 100% ready for the game, confirming what he feared on Friday during his pre-match press conference.
"We didn't win because our level was 99% and not 100%," Garcia said.
"Nobody thought we could draw after the 2-0 and [Daniele] De Rossi's sending off. [Goalkeeper] Morgan [De Sanctis] did well to avoid the 3-0 when he denied Berardi."
Asked if it's a missed opportunity to close the gap from leaders Juventus, Garcia said: "Considering how the game went, no.
"Getting a draw in the last minutes is always a positive result. We have no regrets, we will have more opportunities to close the gap."
