Roma boss Jose Mourinho was proud of his men’s effort to achieve victory in a crucial first leg at home with Real Sociedad in tonight’s Europa League match-up.
In his post-match interview with Sky Sport, Mourinho said, “The boys’ merit tonight was their organization, their effort and their empathy on the pitch. We were good at controlling the game even without the ball.”
“After scoring 2-0 we were good at controlling the match. Our strength? All the lads on the pitch, as a team. We can talk about the goalkeeper, the defenders, but I don’t know a team that defends well only in the back and not as a team.”
“When I see my team, from top to bottom, I see how the team works. For example, how Dybala works in the defensive phase says it all.”
“We know our limits, but even those we turn them into strengths. This result is good, but only if we don’t concede three in the second leg. I never say after the first leg that it’s an excellent result.”
“We played with two fresh fullbacks and both did well. El Sha knows how to score, he had plenty of pace in his legs. He scored in an action that we had prepared beforehand. We trained well and prepared the match well to create difficulties for the opponent.”
“I’m happy with what the boys have done tonight, I can’t ask for more. However, we now have a dangerous week because we are tired, we will also play against Lazio and the city is ‘dangerous’ in this sense. In Spain it will be a difficult match and two days later we will play in the derby.”
“It wasn’t easy because we didn’t have too many options up front. When El Sha plays as a fullback, then I’m forced to move him forward when he’s tired. The mentality of these guys is fantastic.”
