Roma coach Jose Mourinho saw the positives in his sides 1-1 draw against Lecce, calling it a tough match on a ‘horrible’ pitch. The Giallorossi went behind early on but piled on the pressure, converting a penalty from the spot and forcing goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone into a series of great saves. Reflecting on the match, Mourinho spoke with DAZN (via Pagineroromaniste) and insisted his team see the positives in the performance:
Was it two points lost or one gained?
“It was a tough game, tough. Obviously you can see by our attitude that it’s not the result we wanted. Very tough match, intense. Horrible pitch. The players had a lot of trouble playing up front. It was difficult to play quality football. The way they play is difficult. We had chances to score the second goal: in these games more come. I don’t say anything negative to my players. It’s not the result we wanted, but it’s a point: difficult to say two points lost, we have one more than when we arrived.=
“Abraham? He played well. He played a good game. The last thing I would say is to accuse my players of an individual mistake. Falcone made good saves, Abraham created chances for himself. These are matches in which you don’t have 10 chances on goal, but 3-4 and you have to score goals. When Lecce recover the ball you feel a click in transition, they are aggressive in the counter attack. I expected it to be difficult. I’m not disappointed with my team.”
Roma created more in the second half. Did you like the performance?
“I also liked feeling something in the dressing room: there are people who aren’t happy after the result. It means a lot, it’s great to hear this evolution in mentality. Some people said it was a tough, aggressive game: 2-3 years ago, Roma would have lost this game, now we have the right mentality. Credit to them: I’m not critical of them, although usually the coach of the team with the most quality attacks the way they play. Lazio-Atalanta can’t both win, we have one more point. Wijnaldum? Gini lacks intensity, Belotti is finally getting into a physical condition that can be useful. Now the difficulty begins for us: playing three games and the Europa League. No regrets with the boys and the performance.
“The refereeing? I spoke now with Aureliano. I’ll say what I told him: it was a difficult game for him too. Very aggressive, fast, with many contrasts and second balls. He did his level best. After reviewing it on the Ipad it’s surely a second yellow for Strefezza. Aureliano did his best: he let the game have this beauty. It was cold, the pitch was not in great condition, the smaller team trying to make their point, the bigger team trying to win: it was great.”
