Jose Mourinho acknowledges that, although “it is our own fault,” Roma is in the Europa League play-offs, he was also brought to tears by young talent Niccolò Pisilli’s debut goal.
The Giallorossi, having lost to Slavia Prague and drawn away to Servette, were aware that it would be a very difficult challenge to win the group.
By the halfway point, it was clear that this was not going to happen as Slavia Prague led Servette 3-0 and went on to win 4-0.
Mourinho said to Sky Sport Italia, “We played one awful performance in Prague and that is what ruined it. It is our own fault that we are second.”
“We can’t play the way we did against Slavia, even though we won our home games and put on two respectable away performances. We have to play two more games as a result, which is a punishment for a team that should play fewer games than it does.
They had the same head-to-head record against Slavia Prague as a result of that 2-0 loss, thus even a point share would not be advantageous to them.
Even Nevertheless, they triumphed over Sheriff Tiraspol 3-0 with to goals from Romelu Lukaku, Andrea Belotti, and Pisilli, a youth squad player who immediately started crying.
“I’ve made a number of debuts for other teams, but at Roma, a lot of them are young players who grew up here and attended the stadium with their dads or grandfathers. It’s really emotional for them to play for the senior team.
It’s his first goal in the Europa League at the Stadio Olimpico, in the net below where he used to watch games from the stands. Such happiness. I had to leave before I started crying too!
Due to their status in the playoffs, Roma will play a team that will be eliminated from the Champions League in February.
Benfica, Braga, Feyenoord, Galatasaray, Lens, Young Boys, and Shakhtar Donetsk are among the alternatives.
“We may be in second place, but teams eliminated from the Champions League will not be happy to play against us either,” Mourinho continued.
“Benfica is not ashamed of their disappointment in qualifying for the Europa League after finishing in the quarterfinals of the Champions League the previous year.
“I hope we don’t follow the same route we did the previous season, which seemed to be the Far West chaos for a tournament—having to defeat Real Sociedad, Red Bull Salzburg, and Bayer Leverkusen.”
Prior to the match, Tiago Pinto stated that Roma would look to add a new defender in January to cover for Chris Smalling, Marash Kumbulla, and Evan Ndicka, who is playing in the Africa Cup of Nations.
“I anticipate the caliber of player we may potentially sign. Mourinho answered, “It is easy for others, but difficult for us,” when asked what he anticipated.
Because of these Financial Fair Play restrictions, we are unable to sign a superb player in the best possible condition for a top squad. Those that make false statements should show us greater respect.
Can Roma win a top four Serie A finish and qualify for the Europa League at the same time?
“With every member of the squad giving it their all, we have no fear.” Regretfully, we have encountered and will continue to encounter difficulties, but we press on.
“I’ve made the decision to just go for it with what I have at that particular moment rather than crying over it. We will give it our all even though Bologna is without Dybala and Lukaku.
Lukaku is put on hold.
