Roma boss Jose Mourinho took the opportunity to reaffirm his trust in team skipper Lorenzo Pellegrini ahead of the must-win showdown with Juventus.
In his pre-match press conference on Friday, Mourinho praised Pellegrini and discussed his importance to the team amid criticism from fans and media alike.
“My opinion is that he’s improving and that’s what I like. Besides the crucial goal that he notched against Napoli and the way he came on in that game, he also did an excellent job the previous week.”
“He’s not the type to let up and I’ve never seen him do that, while some others may not work at their hardest in the week. Not him, he’s always focused and works hard. Last week, I saw he had that touch of quality, à la Lorenzo.”
“He did well when he came on, he played well and he has kept that going this week, so I’m pleased. You might be right that for a period of time he dipped slightly and wasn’t performing to his usual high standards, but now we’re seeing them. We need to make the most of his form in a period in which we have so many games to play, with seven or eight fixtures back-to-back in January. He’s important because he’s a top-quality player.”
