Lorenzo Pellegrini was subjected to some whistles and boos upon his substitution in the second half of Roma-Empoli. The club captain has been dealing with several physical issues and persevered despite the intensity of the recent schedule.
As a result, Mourinho took the floor during his post-match press conference and defended Pellegrini.
“Some people understand, others don’t understand what it means to sacrifice yourself for the team. That’s what he’s doing – playing 95 minutes with Cremonese on Wednesday, 94 minutes today. It’s not easy.”
“He’s got a coach in me who respects him and respects everything he does for the team. Out of 60,000 people at the stadium tonight, I counted maybe 20-30-40-50 people whistling him…”
