Jose Mourinho has reminded his Roma squad that not all is lost in their hopes of qualifying for Champions League football after their Derby della Capitale loss against Lazio on Sunday evening.
The 1-0 loss at the Stadio Olimpico was initially seen as a missed opportunity to climb into the Serie A top four, particularly with both Milan and Inter having dropped points over the weekend.
However whilst the Giallorossi have had to temporarily settle for fifth place in the division, they remain only one point away from fourth, three points off third and still have to face Milan and Inter at home before the end of the season.
As explained in Corriere dello Sport, it would be foolish for Mourinho and his squad to give up on their push in Serie A in order to focus primarily on winning the Europa League.
Roma found themselves in a similar position under Paulo Fonseca two years ago, when the team looked hopeful of going all the way in the Europa League only to be knocked out by Manchester United over two legs in the semi-final.
They then relied on a late goal from Henrikh Mkhitaryan against Spezia in the dying minutes of the season to confirm their place in the following season’s edition of the Conference League.
Just under a year later, Mourinho came good on their qualification and led Roma to their first ever European trophy, but it all could have looked very different if they had not come good in the league the season before.
This time around, it is Champions League qualification that has become essential, not least because of the guaranteed €40m in extra revenue provided from playing in the competition.
That sort of money will be crucial if Roma are to keep hold of some of their key players beyond the end of June, particularly the likes of Paolo Dybala, Chris Smalling and Nemanja Matic.
According to Corriere dello Sport, In order to stay within Financial Fair Play regulations, it would not be unlikely to see Roma part ways with one or two of their players in the summer window.
For their struggles this season, yet still with an ability to fetch a good return if they were to be sold, Tammy Abraham and Roger Ibanez are among the likes that Roma could let go if they needed to raise immediate funds.
With 16 games left of their season, 11 in Serie A and five in Europe, the immediate priorities lie on the pitch and with the race for the top four tighter than ever, perhaps focusing on the league is the sensible thing to do at the moment.
“In order to stay within Financial Fair Play regulations, it would not be unlikely to see Roma part ways with one or two of their players in the summer window.”
Explain to me how this improves or “protects” football, everybody so ready to crap on Roma but meanwhile we’ve carried Serie A co-effcient for the last 6 years.