Jose Mourinho admits Roma ‘took an enormous risk’ with their unorthodox formation to beat Cremonese in the Coppa Italia. ‘If Romelu Lukaku has to play central defence, he will.’
The Giallorossi were trailing at half-time to a Frank Tsadjout goal, but his multiple substitutions including Paulo Dybala helped turn the situation around with two goals in the final 13 minutes.
They were a Lukaku strike and the Dybala penalty, earned by Leonardo Spinazzola, to book their place in the quarter-finals against Lazio.
“All things considered, we did not struggle that much. We deserve respect for everything that we are doing in all these difficulties. I doubt many teams have won a game when playing without a single central defender,” Mourinho told Mediaset.
There was some confusion over what system Roma were playing towards the end, as it was almost a 2-4-4 with no available centre-backs.
“We put more people on to fill the final third and the penalty area. We had Dybala to create, Azmoun, Spinazzola and others going forward.
“If we had gone out, we’d have been dead tired and also know we had tried literally everything against a Cremonese side and a coach who do not belong in Serie B,” explained the Special One.
“I am pleased with the performance, but it’s tough. This is an enormous risk that we only take in an emergency. The team is accustomed to a high press, but we had no centre-backs. In order for Bryan Cristante to play there, it has to be three at the back.
“We had 20-odd games in a row without Chris Smalling, that is a dramatic situation for us. Not having Kumbulla, now losing Ndicka who was working so hard and has improved so much, these are all extraordinarily difficult situations for us.
“When we lose the ball, who defends? When we need the defensive transition, to keep the line together, who does that? We defend in two separate blocks, six plus four, and that is a very risky thing to do.
“We just have to keep taking it one game at a time.”
The fixture list is certainly tough for the Giallorossi, as they have Atalanta and Milan coming up in Serie A, while the quarter-final with Lazio is yet to be scheduled, but likely to be around January 10.
“I don’t know how we will keep going, there is a very important game to play on Sunday, this is who we’ve got. If we need Lukaku to play central defence then he will. We play with heart, respect for the club and for the fans.
“We have Atalanta first, then Lazio in the Coppa Italia. Azmoun leaves next week, Mancini is injured and on a yellow card, Paredes and Cristante are on cards, I don’t know what condition we’ll be in for the games with Lazio and then Milan. All I know is that we give it everything we’ve got.
“How many clubs can say they have 43 sold out home matches in a row? I too am tired, I ran a few kilometres on that touchline tonight.”
Mourinho asked if pundit Massimo Mauro was in the studio, but he was not there on this particular evening, still getting an earful from the coach.
“For an ex-player, he does not respect people from his own business. There are pundits who spent time on the field, on the touchline, they all respect and know that we are eating from the same plate, whereas he does not do that.”
#CoppaItalia | #Roma, #Mourinho: "Lazio? Non so come ci arriveremo. Se servirà faremo giocare #Lukaku difensore centrale"https://t.co/Ce0TJzWYGk
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) January 3, 2024