Jose Mourinho confirmed that Paulo Dybala, Chris Smalling and Stephan El Shaarawy will be available to face Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League. The Giallorossi hold a slender 1-0 lead from the first-leg in Rome, but will be buoyed by the return of a number of key players for the trip to Germany. Speaking ahead of the second-leg, Mourinho explained why he wants to make it to the final of the competition for the sake of the fans and his players, who have given everything season, given the many difficult moments they’ve encountered:
“Dybala, Smalling and El Shaarawy are all available tomorrow.
“I want the final not so much for me because I’m a different person, I think more about others. I want it for the fans and the boys. The fans are extraordinary and the boys because they are an incredible group who are doing a season where they are giving everything, there have been so many moments of difficulty but the people have allowed us to overcome them.”
“These guys deserve a lot, but in football no one gives you anything and we obviously have to play an extraordinary game to advance to the final.”
“The first home game against Bayer Leverkusen was mentally difficult for us, playing a first home game where you theoretically have to win against a team like them was very difficult for us. Let’s see what will happen tomorrow. We hope we can win and get to the final.”
