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Di Francesco was relieved with Roma's 2-1 Champions League win over
Qarabag on Wednesday after admitting they made it hard for themselves.
Early goals from Kostas Manolas (7) and Edin Dzeko (15) put Roma in a strong position at the Baki Olimpiya Stadionu.
But Qarabag were back in the tie following a 28th minute effort from Pedro Henrique following a neat assist from Dino Ndlovu and may well have found further goals had it not been for some determined defending from the visitors.
Roma had not won on the road in the Champions League since November 2010 and after the game Di Francesco told Mediaset: "You can't have any regrets after a win.
"We certainly could have done better at 2-0 but you can't forget Roma haven't won in the Champions League for some time and that this was a difficult atmosphere.
"Every time Qarabag got the ball and ran forward, it was as though they had the chance of a lifetime. We could have controlled the ball better and we took some risks late on, but Qarabag are in the Champions League, which means they have quality.
"We made life difficult for ourselves. But it's a process. Last season, Roma went out in the qualifiers and now we're in the group stage.
"We could have won differently but we did win, which is the important thing. We go forward and learn from the positives and negatives. Don't forget we now have four points from two games."
