Jose Mourinho explains why he ordered Lorenzo Pellegrini not to take the penalty against Udinese and the importance of the bond with the Roma fans, hitting out at social media critics. ‘This is reality.’
Awaiting Fiorentina against Atalanta tomorrow evening, until now all the teams who played in Europe then dropped points in Serie A at the weekend except for the Giallorossi.
“We changed several players from Thursday, Lorenzo and Gini Wijnaldum only played 45 minutes. We risked it, but the team as a team gave an excellent response,” Mourinho told DAZN.
They were beaten 1-0 by Feyenoord in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final, Lorenzo Pellegrini missing a penalty that saw him criticised and really rocked his confidence.
Bryan Cristante fired a penalty against the woodwork, Edoardo Bove reacting quickest to turn in on the rebound.
Pellegrini did then score from open play before Tammy Abraham’s glancing header in stoppages, while Rui Patricio parried Roberto Pereyra’s penalty.
“The result might make it seem as if it was easy, but honestly I never felt like that until the third goal. Even after Rui saved the penalty, Udinese were the ones pushing into our half, we lowered the pressing and that is when the fatigue set in. The 3-0 certainly did not feel like the result I experienced on the bench.”
Pellegrini revealed that it was Mourinho who told him not to take the penalty this evening after the miss against Feyenoord, but assured it was not a lack of faith in his captain.
“He needed to win, to play without any pressure weighing on him for a missed penalty or recent performances that were not fantastic. There are reasons for that and we don’t always have to keep telling people that. He has my faith.
“My decision not to let him take the penalty was simply because he did not need that extra pressure. In fact, I told him if there’s a penalty for 2-0, it is yours, but if it is a decisive one, it is not for you today.
“If some comments on social media were negative after Feyenoord, the reality is what we saw today, face to face with the fans, understanding we are all together, in good times and bad.”
Pellegrini and Bove are both not just Italians and products of the Roma academy, but also born and raised in the capital.
“I like to have Italian players at the core, that is the consequence of our economic reality, but it is above all a way for the club to have a strong bond with the youth academy. Modern football is universal, there are many foreign players in all the leagues in the world, but I continue to believe those who come from here have this specific ability to help the team feel like a family, create that empathy with the fans.
“I think this is one of the reasons why the fans are always with us, whether we play well or badly. Bove scored a goal and was excellent, but I am also cross with him because he made a mistake that if Rui had not saved the penalty could’ve become very difficult.
“That is part of the learning process, but I am glad that a Roman and Romanista scored.”
This 3-0 victory means that Roma have consolidated third place, now sitting three points clear of Milan and more crucially five ahead of Inter, as the race for the Champions League places is hotting up.
However, as Mourinho has pointed out before, that is all assuming Juventus do not win their appeal against the 15-point penalty, which will be heard on Wednesday.
This was the third consecutive clean sheet for the Giallorossi in Serie A and they are particularly solid at the Stadio Olimpico.
“I always say when a coach in a ‘normal’ club cannot buy any player he wants, he must make the most of the strengths and hide the weaknesses as well as possible.
“Defensive solidity is our strength, we do not have any players in attack with a real change of pace, so it means we need to press high and recover the ball high, otherwise we cannot make that rapid transition. When the energy levels dropped, the intensity dropped, we sat further back and suffered.
“The result is important and now we must forget Serie A for a few days and see if it’s possible on Thursday to score against Feyenoord and I believe it is possible.”
Mourinho was asked if Paulo Dybala will be ready to play in that Europa League quarter-final after a muscular problem in Rotterdam.
“Maybe. I am more positive than negative, but it’s a maybe.”