Mourinho reveals why World Cup winner joined AS Roma
FootballMourinho Bemoans Lack of Investment in Roma With Bayern Munich's Depth Comment
- Jose Mourinho guided AS Roma to a 2-0 win over Real Sociedad in the UEFA Europa League
- Goals from Stephan El Shaarawy and Marash Kumbulla secured the win for Giallorossi
- The Special One is not impressed by the depth of his squad and has sent a subtle message to the board
Jose Mourinho coached AS Roma to a 2-0 win over Spanish opponents Real Sociedad in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League round of 16 match at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
Stephan El Shaarawy and Marash Kumbulla stepped up with the goals for the Italian club, putting them in an advantageous position going into next week's second-leg tie in Spain.
The Special One felt he could have won with a wider margin if he had more quality off the bench to replace his starters in the second half, as most top European clubs have.
Mourinho wants more quality
Tammy Abraham and Paulo Dybala who started in attack for Roma, were replaced with Andrea Belotti and youngster Eduardo Bove.
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Speaking during his post-match conference, which was quoted by Goal, the former Chelsea manager cited an example of Bayern who could afford to leave Serge Gnabry, Sadio Mane and Leroy Sane on the bench for their 2-0 win over PSG.
''We only had one striker [Andrea Belotti] on the bench. Ola Solbakken wasn't even there,'' he said.
''I remembered yesterday's match where Bayern Munich had Gnabry, Sane and Mane on the bench. I would like even just one of them. Maybe I'll put him in Dybala's place, and we win with more goals,'' he added.
Mourinho praises player's mentality
Midfielders Nemanja Matic and Bryan Cristante confronted each other during the match after the latter misplaced a pass. It took the intervention of Gini Wijnaldum to separate the two, as reported by Roma Press.
The defender who saved Bayern Munich from defeat against PSG
FootballMatic downplayed the incident after the game, claiming it was just in the heat of the moment. Mourinho praised the two players for showing such mentality.
Mourinho reveals why Dybala joined Roma
Sports Brief earlier reported that Mourinho revealed why Dybala joined Roma. The attacker left Juventus at the end of last season after seven years in Turin.
The Special One claimed the Argentine joined him in Rome with a dream to win the World Cup, which he did with Argentina in Qatar last December.