Jose Mourinho took the opportunity to reply to Maurizio Sarri’s recent criticisms: “If anyone is to feel offended by his statements it is the people of Slavia not me.” Sarri was critical of the fixture calendar in the buildup to this weekends Rome Derby, saying the Giallorossi would be playing a friendly, while Lazio had ‘fought a battle’ in the Champions League. Speaking ahead of the match against Sparta Prague, Mourinho took the bait and responded to Sarri, pointing to the number of trophies he has won over his coaching career:
“If anyone is to feel offended by his statements it is the people of Slavia not me.
“It’s as if he said that Slavia had no quality, I always respect my opponents and I’ve already said that they’re a very good team.”
“Maybe the difference in the story of players and coaches lies in the way they think. The difference between someone who has won 26 titles and one who has won little is exactly this: every game is a serious affair and there is no such thing as a friendly. I would also like to hear the words of the Serie A League regarding these statements by Sarri.”
“We are in a great position to qualify to the next round,” said the Special One. “Last year we had the difficult experience of finishing second in the group and we played the playoff games in February against a team that came from the Champions League, it was tough so it would be important to avoid this happening again.”
“We can do it by winning tomorrow, drawing tomorrow and winning one of the remaining games or losing tomorrow by just one goal with two games left to play. There are different ways arithmetically to reach a positive outcome tomorrow. But in the last 7-8 games between Serie A and Europa League we have only lost to Inter, if we can continue to win games, then that is what we want.”
“For me all games are important. Slavia’s stadium is a small, beautiful stadium with strong fans and a good team, which has the typical soul of teams who play to win championships and who often win every weekend. It will be tough for us, but we will try to bring home the result.”
“Lukaku? He will play. I will not rest him.”
