Roma have qualified for the inaugural group stage of the Europa Conference League after a professional performance in the second leg of their play-off against Trabzonspor.
Goals from Bryan Cristante, Nicolo Zaniolo and Stephan El Shaarawy sealed a 3-0 win at Stadio Olimpico to follow on from the 2-1 advantage earned in Turkey. Thus, what could have been a tricky tie overall was dealt with very well.
Roma will soon find out who they will be playing in the group phase, but before the attention turns to that – and the weekend’s game against Salernitana – they can reflect on a job well done in Europe.
Here are five key comments from Jose Mourinho’s post-match reaction (to Sky Sport, translated by RomaPress).
On what qualities stood out
“I really liked the mindset, the result, and the empathy we showed tonight.”
On beating a good opponent
“It’s a shame that Trabzonspor won’t even play in the Conference League, this team has Europa League quality at minimum.”
On Rui Patricio
“If Rui Patricio didn’t make those scary saves, maybe this match would’ve gone differently. But it’s good to play in matches where you’re in difficulty. But this is also why you have a goalkeeper, he’s not here to be a tourist, but to make saves.”
On Zaniolo
“I asked him if he wanted a couple of days off but he rejected it because he wants to be near his teammates. He won’t play on Sunday but this (his mindset) is important.”
On Lorenzo Pellegrini
“He needs to sign his new deal tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. He needs to sign it immediately, there’s been a huge effort made to keep him here and happy for a long time.”
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