Jose Mourinho insists Roma should see the 1-1 draw with Lecce not as two dropped points, but as one point gained, even backing the referee. ‘There is beauty in rough matches with two teams battling it out.’
The Capital club became only the latest big side to drop points against newly-promoted Lecce, after Napoli, Milan, Lazio and Atalanta.
Wladimiro Falcone performed heroics with at least four big saves on Tammy Abraham, after Paulo Dybala’s penalty and the early Federico Baschirotto header that was then credited as a Roger Ibanez own goal.
“It was a difficult game, a tough game. Obviously, you can see from our attitude and frustration in the final minutes that it is not the result we wanted. On the other hand, I will say with all honesty it was an intense, tough match. The pitch was horrible, there were huge problems playing one-touch football, it bounced strangely, it was hard to play quality football,” Mourinho told DAZN.
“Lecce are difficult, we had the chances to score a second goal and when you get that second against a team like this, it can open the door to more.
“I have nothing negative to say to my players, on an individual or collective level. I won’t say it is two points dropped, because we have one more point than we did when we arrived here.
“The last thing I say to my players is accuse them of individual errors. The Lecce goalkeeper made some remarkable saves, this is the kind of game where you’re not going to have 10 scoring opportunities. If you get five or six, you need to convert two.
“Lecce deserve credit, as they are so aggressive, win back the ball and click into the transition straight away, they never let their opponents relax for a moment. I expected it to be difficult, obviously we wanted to win, but I was by no means upset with the performance.
“A few years ago, Roma would’ve lost a match like this that was all about aggression and determination, so this shows definite progress. Sometimes coaches with more quality to draw on are insulting towards teams who focus on aggression, but that is not me, I credit them for their approach.”
There was some good news for Roma with the return of Gini Wijnaldum as a substitute, only his second appearance for the club after fracturing his leg in August 2022.
“Gini played his first 10 minutes, he lacks intensity and pace, but Belotti is finally reaching a physical level that can make him a useful player for us.
“Now the big problem starts with the Europa League, trying to play three games per week.”
Mourinho was not happy with the refereeing from Giovanni Ayroldi, as Gabriel Strefezza risked a second yellow card before the hour mark, while Morten Hjulmand was fortunate to only get a yellow when he hacked down Dybala on the counter in stoppages.
However, he only commented on the officiating when asked specifically about those incidents.
“I spoke to Aureliano and I will tell you what I told him. It was a difficult match for Lecce, for Roma and for the goalkeeper. It was very fast-paced, aggressive, lots of tackles, everyone going for the second ball. It was not easy for the referee.
“Looking back, Strefezza certainly should’ve had a second yellow card and it could’ve changed the game, but if you don’t ask me this question, I do not talk about the referee.
“He let it run and this too is beauty in football, not just the marvellous skills, but joy in rough matches with two teams battling it out, the smaller side giving everything for the point, the bigger club pushing hard to win. I liked it.”