Henrikh Mkhitaryan expects a mental battle in Roma’s Europa Conference League clash against Bodo/Glimt.
The Giallorossi head into tomorrow’s match at the Stadio Olimpico 2-1 down on aggregate, meaning Jose Mourinho’s team will have to dig deep to overcome the gritty Norwegian side. The pair have started to form a fairly fierce rivalry this season, being a good advertisement for the Conference League.
Speaking in a press conference today, Mkhitaryan first looked ahead to tomorrow’s match.
“What we did against them in the past doesn’t count, now we’re thinking about the next game. Tomorrow is a game you play with your head, we have to play and show that we are capable of winning because we are strong.”
He spoke about his desire to win something with Roma but refused to open up about his possible contract renewal.
“I always have the ambition to win something at the clubs I move to, in the end the only thing that remains is what you’ve won.
“Regarding the contract, I don’t want to talk about that because there is still time to discuss because now my thoughts are the next games. I hope to win the Conference League, but we want to win tomorrow first.”
The 33-year-old Armenian discussed the desire for glory in the Italian capital and the project building in Rome.
“Obviously since I have been in Rome I have felt the passion of the fans always talking about winning something and for me it has always been clear that I am here to win something. It’s difficult, but it would be a crazy thing for the city and the club.
“I’m confident that our work can help us, we’re a young team and we’ve also had a lot of changes compared to last year. Everyone has to believe, in the next few years we will definitely win something, this year it depends on tomorrow’s game.”
Finally, Mkhitaryan spoke about injuries and how the team are in full fitness.
“This is a good thing, we are all available and ready to play tomorrow’s game. Last year we had a lot of injuries and I don’t know why this happened, this year we have fewer but the important thing is that everyone is ready to play tomorrow, even the bench will have to be ready”.
The 33-year-old Mkhitaryan has made 39 appearances across all competitions so far this season, for a total of 3066 minutes. In that time, he’s scored four goals and provided nine assists.
Tomorrow’s Conference League clash has an unexpected weight behind it, with both teams now feeling the rivalry following the recent incident between Giallorossi goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos and Bodo/Glimt head coach Kjetil Knutsen.
🟡🔴 #Roma, parola al fantasista #Mkhitaryan
⬇️ Il punto sul futuro e sul #BodoGlimt in conferenza#LeBombeDiVlad #LBDV #Calciomercatohttps://t.co/skeklKkHrv— LBDV – Le Bombe Di Vlad (@LeBombeDiVlad) April 13, 2022