José Mourinho notes his Roma squad is not deep enough to rotate, especially when they play three games in a week: ‘There is always a problem…’
The Giallorossi were incredibly knocked out of the Coppa Italia quarter-finals on Wednesday at the hands of Cremonese, the only team with no victories in Serie A this season.
The Grigiorossi had already eliminated table leaders Napoli in the previous round.
“Congratulations to Cremonese who secured two great victories against Napoli and us,” Mourinho told reporters after the game, as quoted by Gazzetta.
“If we think they were in Serie B last season, they have even more merit. In the second half we were affected by an individual error, but I saw a good reaction and our opponents defended with many players.”
Roma went 2-0 down and Andrea Belotti’s late strike was not enough to secure a place in the semi-finals where Cremonese will face Fiorentina.
This is Roma’s second defeat in a row across all competitions following Sunday’s 2-1 defeat against Napoli at the Stadio Maradona.
“Now we have to focus on the next game, but we should not forget that with this team it’s hard to rotate, especially when we play three matches in a week,” said Mourinho.
“We deserved a different result in Naples, but we played a great match. I was proud of my team. Today I can’t say the same.”
Mourinho rested Paulo Dybala and Tammy Abraham, starting Cristian Volpao, Belotti and Lorenzo Pellegrini in a front-three. Marash Kumbulla replaced Chris Smalling in central defence, with 19-year-old Benjamin Tahirovic in the middle of the park.
“It’s always the same story. Before the match, the medical staff told me that some players were at risk, so it’s something I had to consider,” explained Mourinho.
“If Dybala had played and got injured, we may have qualified, but then he’d have been out.
“Unfortunately, there is always a problem. If I make changes and the team doesn’t do well, it’s a problem. If I don’t make changes and players get injured, it’s a problem. There’s always a problem.”
Mourinho refused to comment on the Nicolò Zaniolo situation after saying last weekend that the Italy international was no longer part of the project.
Director Tiago Pinto said before the game with Cremonese that he’d talk to Zaniolo at the right time.
“I won’t comment again, the club has been very clear,” Mourinho concluded.