Roma manager Jose Mourinho reacted to the team’s disappointing draw against Torino earlier tonight.
“We conceded a goal from a set-piece,” Mourinho told DAZN. “It’s difficult to play against Torino. Torino plays him very well with their physicality and intensity. It was a difficult match. We played a good match from my perspective.”
“It’s not easy to play against them. It’s not easy to play against this style of play and on this pitch. I now promise that I will no longer criticize the Olimpico in Rome, because compared to this one it seems like a catwalk.”
“People like Paredes a few weeks ago couldn’t play even 15 minutes. Ndicka and Kristensen arrived and had a very positive performance. In my opinion it was a good match, but clearly we can improve and we can always do better. Difficult match for us and very difficult for them too.”
“The feeling is of having two points lost, because this is what you feel when you concede a goal from a dead ball at the end. But great opponent, they have been preparing for this match for a week. I’m sad about the result but I’m not sad about how the players performed tonight.”
“Lukaku? He’s a fantastic player, there’s nothing else to say. There are other great strikers in other teams. I am very happy with him, Belotti and Azmoun. I like Azmoun, he is in a difficult situation and needs to work to be fit and play.”
“Playing with three more attacking players is not easy for us and our players. We have three real strikers and I like them all. Azmoun did not play because he is not in a condition to play these types of matches. The only one who can be the third attacker is El Shaarawy or Pellegrini. Pellegrini was on the bench with us more to motivate the others, he had only done one training session with us yesterday. And we are more of a team when we are all well.”
“We have improved a lot on building from the back. Paredes gives a different quality to the team. Cristante plays in another position, I really like how he fits in, like in the action in which he hit the post. He is the player who can do it when we don’t have Renato Sanches available with us. I’m disappointed with the result, but I don’t mind the individual and collective growth of the players, I’m satisfied with the boys.”
“Today I really liked the two-man midfield, Paredes and Cristante worked well together. I think we’ll go back to not conceding goals soon. People remember Ibanez for the mistakes, but he was a very good player. Smalling is fundamental for us. Today we had the doubt of having Mancini play centrally. In the end, Llorente played an excellent match. I’m happy with the boys. We look at our position in the standings and we don’t like it, but it’s better not to look at it – it won’t last long. We won’t be there in January.”
