The Roma coach comments on the victory over Udinese which came after the defeat against Feyenoord: “We changed several players, the result makes the match seem easy but it wasn’t like that”. On Pellegrini’s return to goal: “We have complete confidence in him and he played an excellent match.” On the blockade of Italians: “They allow those who come to consider this group a family”. On Dybala’s recovery: “Maybe there will be with Feyenoord”
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José Mourinho he is very satisfied with the victory over Udinese, a 3-0 victory that came after the defeat in Rotterdam in the Europa League, which consolidates third place in the standings: “We changed several players. Pellegrini and Wijnaldum played 45 minutes on Thursday, others didn’t didn’t even play, only 3-4 scored 90 minutes on Thursday – he said at the end of the match – There was a team response. The result can make the game look easy, but I only felt a little peace of mind at 3-0. There were moments in between where we felt tired because we were struggling to press up. Before the 3-0 I never felt calm.”
“Italian blockade shows that we are a family”
An increasingly Italian Rome (six players on the pitch) and always very young: “I like having a block of Italians, is the consequence of our economic reality, but it is also a way of thinking, of accepting society. One way to have an excellent relationship with youth football and I like having this Italian group – he explains – Today football is universal, there are many foreigners in every league. The people of the Rome house and the people of the Italy house have this specificity of adapting and of creating a bit of this type of situation where the others who arrive feel that the team is a family, that there is empathy with the fans. Maybe this is one of the reasons why the team wins and I’m happy about that. Today Bove was amazing, but made a major mistake. If Rui Patricio doesn’t save the penalty maybe the situation would have become difficult. Am I angry with him? No, because he is a natural growth. I’m very happy to have lined up a Roman boy who grew up here.”
see also
Roma-Udinese 3-0, goals and highlights
“Maximum confidence in Pellegrini, he had an excellent race”
In Rome, Pellegrini also released himself, returning to score after the missed penalty in Europe: “We needed to win and play with confidence, without pressure from the missed penalty or for some unimaginative performance – he continues – We know the reasons, we don’t always have to say what happens internally, but he is always a player we trust. He didn’t take the penalty today just because I thought he didn’t need this extra pressurea, I told him ‘If there’s a penalty at 2-0 it’s yours, if there’s a decisive penalty it’s not yours’. He had a great match, an excellent goal. If there was any bad comment on social media after Feyenoord it’s simply the world today and it’s not a problem. The reality of today’s world is that of tonight: being face to face with the fans, making it clear that for better or for worse we are always all together.”
“High defense to hide weaknesses. Dybala with Feyenoord? Maybe”
Mourinho also gives an explanation for a defense that is always very high and sometimes risks something: “At Roma we can’t buy all the players we want, so what we have to do is to develop strengths and try to hide our weaknesses to the utmost. The defensive organization is important for us, but we don’t have explosive players up front, the only one is Solbakken like Abraham, so we need to press up high, to recover the ball high up, because we don’t have the ability to make a quick transition. The team knows how to suffer, they achieved an important result and now they have to forget about the league for a few days to make a comeback in Europe, because it’s possible”. And Roma could get back for the Europa League match Dybala: “Maybe yesI’m more positive than negative but it’s still a maybe.”