Jose Mourinho was satisfied of tonight’s display in a winning effort over Empoli in front of the Giallorossi home crowd.
The Portuguese technician spoke to DAZN after the game and highlighted Tammy Abraham’s determination to return his former self after a difficult start to the season.
“There was a small period where I had some doubts, some concerns – not regarding his quality but him. Now even if he doesn’t score, his contribution is important. In the second half he did everything perfectly.”
“He had great link-up play with Dybala tonight. He’s clearly having a good time,” Mourinho added.
“Tonight we played with the best possible formation,” he continued. “We saw this team play 30 minutes tonight which were utterly perfect. Afterwards we dropped a bit in terms of intensity. Why? I think that’s our nature.”
“Paulo had some issues, Lorenzo played with tremendous effort and sacrifice. I’m happy because we’re playing despite our limitations and we get the job done.”
“The crowd and the media may not realize this but had this team played against Cremonese we would have been in the Coppa Italia semifinal. We always work hard no matter what.”
“Today before the game I said that we had to enter the field with a backpack full of sadness and frustration. Because it’s just us. Only us. The truth is that we do our best. Always.”
“Belotti? He is a player who arrived late, with two injuries on his back. He is now in good physical condition. It seems to me that the last game he did well. And that goes beyond the goal he scored.”
“He did a great job almost comparable to Tammy’s work. My trust in him grows. In any case we can only play in 11. The other teams can have incredible players on the bench. 30 seconds of playing time is better than zero. I want to win games.”
“Zaniolo? It is a situation the club are handling. He must speak with the club, not me. Smalling? I can’t do anything to convince him. I think day by day. I could have walked away in December, but I stayed. Sometimes it sounds like we’re struggling and on our way to Serie B, but that’s not true. We’re right there.”
