Highlights
- If Roma wins, it will have a good chance of advancing to the Europa League knockout rounds. If it loses, it might play in the ECL again the following year.
- Competing in the ECL again will be a huge failure for the team, and quitting the League with this much potential would be bad for Roma and Serie A.
- José Mourinho was blunt in his pre-game press conference today. Instead of pointing the finger at specific people, he stressed the need for team cohesiveness.
The second match between Roma and Real Betis on Friday is crucial. If they win, the Giallorossi have a good chance of advancing to the Europa League knockout rounds. If it loses, it might play in the ECL again next year. It will be a huge failure on the part of the club to compete in the ECL once more, given the current potential they have. This explains why José Mourinho was much more upfront than usual in today’s pre-game press conference.
Three questions were mostly the focus of José Mourinho’s news conference and his responses.
Do you think it’s possible that the unusual nature of this season – with the break in between and everything else – has brought with it an elevated risk of injuries? And, as for tomorrow’s game, are Andrea Belotti and Stephan El Shaarawy in line to start?
To this, Mourinho replied that people have been talking about this for a long time. This world cup has been talked about for the last four or five months. He further added that currently, the focus must be on coping with the existing circumstances that have been created. He said that he has learned to cry less and deal with reality. As for Belotti and El Shaarawy, he said that neither of them are in line to start, and it is all open.
It feels like Tammy Abraham has been struggling a bit in the last few games – do you think his issues are physical or mental?
To this, Mourinho said that it was a team issue and he was not the right person to do this analysis. He said, “For us, the truth is that we need goals in order to win games.” He also said that this is a team issue, not an individual player’s issue.
What were you referring to when you said after the Lecce match that the players didn’t seem to follow your instructions? Have you seen improvements over the last few days?
Mourinho said that as a coach, it is difficult for him to speak about the match just 10 minutes after it has finished. Due to this, they may sometimes say things that require an explanation later.
Mourinho further added that, in his opinion, the team needs to have more discipline, and even if two or three players lose that discipline, both in attack and defense, it impacts the rest of the side. He said that some of the best performances they have had in the last 18 months since he has become the coach have been because of great focus, their respect for the game plan, and the strong organisation of the team.