The consecutive Europa League winners found themselves 6-0 down to the Serie A runners-up with just over an hour gone, although they did manage to pull four back by full-time.
Their spirited response was reminiscent of their Uefa Super Cup fightback against Barcelona, when they came back from being 4-1 down to draw level before conceding a late winner in extra time.
However, Emery explained that the matches were very different to each other and believes the Roma defeat illustrates the fact that a significant gap still exists between his outfit and the rest of Europe's top sides.
"The match will serve for us to learn from situations, to know our opponents and our own difficulties. The defence needs to be more convincing," the 43-year-old told reporters.
"It was a game from which we have drawn many conclusions about what it means to play at this level and what we are currently lacking to build the team that we want.
"We partly demonstrated it against Barcelona. The team was competitive in the Super Cup in Tbilisi; we weren't satisfied because we lost, but it gave us a glimmer of light in terms of the continuity of last season.
"There is a lot of work still to do, but we also have a lot of work under our belts. Now it's all about performance. The league starts now and there are no more rehearsals."
Los Rojiblancos will travel to Malaga next Friday for the start of their league campaign.
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