Second victory for Roma in the Europa League group, after Sheriff against Servette, and second match spent in the stands for Jose Mourinho after the disqualification suffered in last year’s post-final in Budapest. The Special One almost jokes about the privileged place from which he saw his Roma but doesn’t seem to get too excited: “We had a horrible first half. I didn’t like it at all. I was in a great location to watch the game and I didn’t like it. We have been too passive, little movement. In the second half the attitude changed, we had more aggression and made more movement even without the ball.” The Belotti-Lukaku duo scored three goals but Mourinho’s judgment remains suspended: “When we play with the two of them without Paulo we lack creativity and a player who connects with the midfield. But they are two physical presences in the area and can exploit the wingers’ crosses. It’s a different thing to play without Paulo or with Paulo.”
Mourinho: “Pellegrini has potential but often physical problems”
The sore point remains the injuries. This time it was the turn of Pellegrini stay on the pitch for just ten minutes: “Unfortunately he is a player with enormous potential but has this medical history which almost cyclically brings him physical problems. I haven’t spoken to anyone yet, but from his body language it seems to me that it’s something muscular, in the flexor.” Pellegrini’s absence creates other problems for the midfield which still doesn’t seem to have found the best structure for him: “We still haven’t found what I thought we had found before the injuries. Renato Sanches he had no rhythm due to injuries. Paredes has security in our organization and grows. Bove he needs to improve his decisions in short spaces and he is doing it quite well. Cristante now he is forced to play defense and Lorenzo found no continuity. Aouar he’s the one who’s having the most difficulty finding who we are as a team and growing in our direction, because we won’t be the ones going in his direction”
