Despite a good game from Roma, beating Sheriff Tiraspol of Moldova 3-0 in the Europa League group stage, there were no major surprises in the group result, with Slavia Prague beating Servette 4-0 in the other game, and Roma finished second.
Before the game, Roma knew that due to the loss to Prague in the first two rounds, the draw with Servette, and the same points with Prague before the final round, but the goal difference was small, and the hope of topping the group was slim. Roma could only hope that Prague would drop points, but it was clear half an hour into the game, with Prague already leading 3-0 and winning 4-0.
The first team will go straight to the last 32 of the Europa League, and the second will be a two-legged play-off against the third-placed teams in the Champions League, with these options including Benfica, Braga, Feyenoord, Galatasaray, Lens and Young.
People and Donetsk miners.
Mourinho said: "We are second in the table, but those teams who have been relegated from the Champions League will not be happy if they have to play against us. Benfica reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League last season and have not hidden their frustration at falling into the Europa League. I hope we don't end up repeating the same mistakes as last season, when we had to beat RB Salzburg, Real Sociedad, Bayer Leverkusen, it seemed like an extremely difficult campaign. ”
Winning the group would have taken the team off the back of the pack and saved at least two unforeseen knockout games, "It's entirely our fault that we lost the top spot because we played a bad game in Prague and that's what ruined it. We won at home and had two good away games, but we couldn't play like we did against Slavia. The penalty for that is that we have to play two more games because this team should have played fewer games than it is now. ”
Roma's head-to-head record against Slavia Prague is 2-0 at home each, so even a tie on points won't work in their favor.
What is touching is that Mourinho sent 19-year-old youth team player Pisili, but in the third minute of stoppage time, Pisili scored Roma's third goal, and the young man burst into tears.
After the game, Pissili still had tears of joy in his eyes, "Scoring at the Stadio Olimpico and wearing this shirt, I could never have imagined this moment, Roma fans are special, everyone knows it, I am a lifelong Roma fan. I'm just trying to do what I've been doing because if you step onto the pitch with fear, that's the worst. ”
Jose Mourinho's 2-0 defeat to Inter Milan in February gave Pisilili his Serie A debut, but it was his first Europa League game and his first goal.
The coach told me to stay calm and I hope I can do that. Working with him every day is incredible. He doesn't need any introduction and it's an honor to work with him. ”
Even Jose Mourinho was impressed: "I've made a lot of young debuts at many other clubs, but at Roma a lot of them grew up here, they came to the pitch with their fathers, their grandfathers and now they have the opportunity to play for the senior team, it's so exciting. It was his first goal at the Olympic Stadium, in the Europa League, and it went under the stands where he used to sit. With such joy, I have to run or I'll cry too!”
Roma general manager Thiago Pinto said before the game that Roma will try to sign a new defender in January to fill the injured positions of Chris Smalling, Kumbula and send Ndicka to play in the Africa Cup of Nations.
I hope we can sign players like that. It's easy for others, but it's hard for us. We can't sign great players in the top squad at our best because we have these financial fair play parameters and we need more respect from those who tell lies. ”
Roma are going to play in the Europa League and finish in the top four in Serie A, so can they do both?
Everyone in the team is 100 per cent committed and we are not afraid of anyone. Unfortunately, we have and will always have problems, but we still keep going. I decided not to cry about it anymore and to fight for it with all my might. Now we play against Bologna, Dybala and Lukaku are not available, but we will give it our all. ”
Romelu Lukaku is suspended in Serie A after receiving a red card against Fiorentina, while Dybala is injured.