Jose Mourinho is happy with his Roma side’s second half display as they defeated Sheriff Tiraspol 2-1 in their Europa League opener. The Portuguese head coach said post-match: ‘In the second half after the equalizer, I liked the reaction, the goal and the result”.
A goal midway through the second half from Romelu Lukaku secured the three points after Cristian Tovar had drawn the scores level for the hosts. Speaking to Sky Sport after the game, Mourinho discussed the positives and negatives from the match, his thoughts on Renato Sanches and Houssem Aouar and also on Romelu Lukaku:
“I didn’t like the first half, too slow without aggression, without control of the game. 1-0 was almost a miracle, we didn’t do anything to deserve it. In the second half after the equalizer, I liked the reaction, the goal and the result, without aggression but also without taking risks and in the end we deserved it.”
On Sanches and Aouar: “They have to play, they need rhythm and intensity. This is Renato, he’s always at risk, it’s difficult to understand: Bayern didn’t understand it, PSG didn’t understand it and we’re struggling. Before the match he was fine but then during the match he felt something and had to stop. He played 45 minutes, then rested for three days and left in the 27th minute. Aouar played as much as he needed to get back into the rhythm of the game.”
On Lukaku: “With that physique, he has to play, he needs coordination and this comes through playing. I wanted to change it first, but then I decided to leave the last 10/15 minutes to Belotti for some situations. It’s good for him to play.”
