Jose Mourinho was asked to speak to Sky Sport following Roma’s loss to Venezia earlier this afternoon.
“It’s complicated. An important part of the equation is our offensive game, there are many chances created, there have also been many half opportunities where you can’t take make the final pass.”
“We had a lot of ease in reaching width, the two forwards had mobility and space. It is difficult to understand how to score only two goals with this attacking phase.”
“The second part of the story are the first and third goal: the first is on a set-piece, the third is a negative interpretation of the offside by the defenders.”
“Then the second goal from Venezia: I have to protect myself. I have to stay with my feelings not to express what’s going on.”
On the referee:
“I could also talk about the many yellow cards for tactical fouls but those are minor details. I can also say that it is true that we had many chances to score the 3-1, the most evident being that of El Shaarawy.”
“The truth is you are 2-1, the game is under control. Then I don’t want to say anything else about what happened. I’m just saying it was a very important moment in the game and that’s it.”
On failing to give the team a sense of balance:
“As a coach, I have to put ambition and motivation above everything, even to myself.”
“To say that fourth place is an objective we want to compete for does not mean that we are in fourth place. I will say until the last day that fourth place is the goal, but for some reason in the last two seasons we have finished sixth and seventh.”
“The club has tried to strengthen the squad but I’m not saying that this squad is better than last year’s. We lost experienced players: today we had Reynolds and Tripi on the bench as full-backs. Bruno Peres and Juan Jesus would have been helpful.”
“The market has been reactive, I am on the side of the club and the sporting director. Except the goalkeeper where I made the request to have him. The left-back was a reactive opportunity, Tammy came on for Dzeko, the other players are the same as last year.”
“I don’t think this is the right season to set a goal that needs to be achieved. This season can also be a season that hurts the body and soul, to understand many things that I did not understand before and learn from them.”
“Right now I understand more than I did two months ago.”
“Teams are built according to the way you play. If you don’t have two players with similar potentials in every position, you as a manager also become responsive and not constructive. Today, for example, we had difficulty building the team, even on the bench.”
“Today Karsdorp was injured and booked. If Darmian has a yellow, Dumfries comes on. If Kjaer is injured, Romagnoli enters. We are a team under construction. But I don’t want to escape from the situation: our motivation will always be fighting for fourth place. We must always put a target beyond our potential.”
“And on the episodes: there are hidden things that you understand over the years and one day I will understand them.”
