Jose Mourinho led his Roma to a home win beating Andreazzoli’s Empoli 2-0. The Special One spoke to DAZN following the victory and shared his thoughts on the overall performance.
“I think we played well. Made a solid and compact match. Not calm, but in control. Against a team that plays well, two full-backs way up high. So many people in the penalty area that force you to go out.”
“We have been working these last two days and we deserved to win. 7 games 15 points, that’s fine.”
On what he told Zaniolo after the youngster’s substitution:
“I told him that this is how a player has to react in the face of a few moments of sadness. He expected to join the national team, Roberto made respectable choices for him.”
“Playing like this can create a positive problem for Mancini. In the last match against Lazio, against Zorya he was physically strong, great in transition. He did very well, and he was really tired. I liked him.”
On Pellegrini:
“Pellegrini is our connection, they practically played man-to-man. He is calm in all areas of the pitch, he creates connections with the attackers. We played well.”
On how he’s handling the pressure of the Roman environment:
“People are OK. When we won 4 games not 40, that’s what I said. When defeat comes, as a team we had to be united and we were.”
“We know the difference between us and the other top teams. I accepted a different job profile than in any other time in my career.”
“I’m happy to let Darboe play, to have guys like Calafiori, Zalewski grow.”
“When you see the other teams they make changes with quality, experience. We have to make players grow. We need to understand the path. It is age and experience, but I am calm both when there is euphoria and when one gets lost.”
“After the two defeats always we maintained the same profile, and felt the same support of the fans. We arrive an hour earlier and the stadium is full, the owners are there, everyone sings together. We are a giant sized club, but as a team we need to improve.”
