Jose Mourinho defended his teams performance during their 3-1 defeat to Atalanta: ‘we played an excellent match’. The Giallorossi travelled to Bergamo without Chris Smalling and Gini Wijnaldum, while Paulo Dybala and Nemanja Matic were only fit enough for the bench. La Dea took the lead through Mario Pasalic before Rafael Toloi doubled the lead in the second half. Roma pulled one back through Lorenzo Pellegrini but Teun Koopmeiners sealed the result just minutes later, adding a third for Atalanta. Speaking with DAZN after the match (as quoted by RomaPress), Mourinho insisted the Roma performance wasn’t as bad as made out, pointing to his teams control of the match in the first half and the number of injuries they’ve had this season:
“I don’t agree with those who claim we played badly: we played an excellent match and in the end the episodes determine the final result.
“We controlled the match in the first half, but the first goal was an episode. Tammy has to take a foul and he didn’t take it, we just stared at the ball and Pasalic scored. We had some tired players on the pitch and it showed.”
“I’m happy with my players. If I have to play on Saturday, no problem, I’ll suit up. This is a united team, I’m sure the fans are proud including Francesco [Totti].”
“We finished the game with 9 players, it’s difficult for me to be critical of a team that plays within its limits. In terms of attitude and team spirit, I’m super satisfied.”
“Injuries are part of the game, today we tried to limit and protect players who were in no condition to play a full match including Dybala and Matic. Bove and Solbakken gave very positive performances.”
“For some it’s a small problem for us it’s a huge problem not having Smalling. Diego [Llorente] who was adapting well, got hurt. Maybe a defeat against Feyenoord could have been a solution to fight until the end.”
“Honestly, we can’t do any miracles but the empathy between the team and the fans is extraordinary. We’re all in it together until the end, with or without injuries.”
