Maybe with a little more attention we would have seen the best Rome?
“From the first minute we played well, we had 10-15 minutes after Osimhen’s goal we had a period where we felt the injustice of the disadvantage. The team was always in control, we pressed very hard, we defended well. If there are games where you lose, you can come out more confident than before under these circumstances. Napoli suffered, we are the team that scared all of them. The stadium seemed empty, beyond the negative result I leave here more confident. Our three changes in the final are three children playing in a plastic field in Trigoria, it gives me tremendous pleasure and great pride. Sometimes football is unfair, the team that deserves more loses. Sometimes we won without deserving, tonight they deserved to win. I told the boys that we must be sad for the defeat, but calmly see you on Wednesday at the Olimpico”.
What was said with Spalletti?
“At first I thanked him because he gave me a present for my birthday, I have yet to see him and I was pleased. After the match there was a hug, today we saw that Napoli are very good and have the champion’s star. I have won eight championships, I know what it means to have the star that lights up for you, the championship will definitely be theirs.”
Matic did a great job, El Shaarawy did well too. How is Pellegrini doing?
“Lorenzo hasn’t trained with the team for two weeks, he only trained with us yesterday but it’s not like you get all this intensity. He sacrificed himself, he wasn’t in top condition, he had little intensity, he was missing this thing here. We have prepared the game like this, our team with one game a week is a very good team, the problem will be when we play like this 2-3 times a week. We interpreted the match in a way where we thought Napoli would struggle, they have tremendous quality. We took risks, Matic played very well but I think Mancini played well, he played full-back against Kvaratshkelia. Osimhen he’s very strong, he’s difficult to mark, he’s a top player but if he comes to England he has to change because they’ll kill him, certain attitudes are accepted in Italy. I put three kids on the field in the final, with the qualities we have we made a good match. Let’s look at the standings and see the calendar, we have to understand that we have played twice in Milan, in Naples, in Turin with Juventus. The difficulty comes now because we will play three games a week, but I leave here happy. Last year we played in these stadiums in a different way, there seemed to be a tactical-mental block, now we arrive in these stadiums and play like this, it’s a pride even if with zero points”.
Can Abraham’s injury reopen the doors to Zaniolo?
“I don’t know if he’s injured or tired. I don’t understand what’s wrong with him and Matic, it was a very expensive match, I don’t know if they are injured. I want people like that, I want people who want to play for Roma and who are available. When you don’t feel good in the family, you have to go away, you have to find a solution. The family is for those who want to stay with us”.
These are Mourinho’s words at the press conference
Are Roma currently the main favorites in the Champions League race?
“When three games a week are played, it’s a squad race, not a team race. When we have the time and condition to prepare for a one-off match, it’s very difficult for us who don’t win that match. When we work on the defensive and offensive phases and you have players fresh, it’s very difficult for us not to win. When you play three times a week, the favorite teams are the ones that have the most staff. We grow as a team and we grow players who weren’t options before, guys like Bove and Volpato, over time the better squad. After the match I told the players to feed their souls with the performance we made, to look at the standings and the calendar ahead of us. We played on the pitches of Juventus, Milan and then they have to play with us. Today, in the sadness of a result that I consider ultra-undeserved, I am proud of this team”.
On Dybala’s race.
“I don’t like making individual analyses, you have to look at the match we forced against Napoli. Because we forced this match, which Napoli didn’t want and neither did the crowd, in fact the stadium seemed empty. We pressed them a lot, they couldn’t to build. We must also give credit to the opponent, Kim is a fantastic player. This is the team that wins the Scudetto, when you have to win there is a star who accompanies you, of matches that you should lose and instead win. Today they have had this star, for this reason I think it will be the team that will win the Scudetto”.
On his exchanges.
“I’ve all made forced changes, the boys had asked me to change. Sure, it’s one thing to bring in Raspadori and Simeone, it’s another to have kids.”
