Five things Mourinho mentioned after a losing visit to Inter Milan for Roma

A substantial unbeaten run in Serie A came to an end for Roma with a 3-1 defeat to Inter Milan on Saturday evening.

Returning to his former stomping ground of the San Siro, Jose Mourinho could not inspire his Roma side to a result, for the third time between these two sides this season.

Roma fell behind to goals from Denzel Dumfries and Marcelo Brozovic in the first half, before Lautaro Martinez extended the hosts’ lead after the break.

Mourinho’s men reduced the deficit courtesy of Henrikh Mkhitaryan shortly before time, but it wasn’t enough to head into Thursday’s big European semi-final with Leicester City on a winning note.

Here is what Mourinho made of the result against Inter, speaking to DAZN.

On what would have been required to win

“We needed to be perfect today and we weren’t perfect. We did well, but we weren’t perfect. It was 0-0 and we had that big chance with [Gianluca] Mancini’s header, 10 seconds later they scored with a through ball. The second goal was also a through ball after we lost the ball.”

On critical timeframes

“There was a lack of concentration and confidence for about 10-15 minutes before the break. In the second half, we conceded a goal from a set play that my players knew full well how to defend, because we talked about it so much.”

On how to cut the gap with better teams

“We need time, work, the growth of players. [Nicola] Zalewski has a lot of qualify for a child. There are teams like Inter who pay to keep [Robin] Gosens on the bench, whereas we have to work with a kid and help to protect him.”

On why Inter are ahead

“If we had faced a mid-table team today, we’d certainly have won. Inter had two years of Antonio Conte, now one of Simone Inzaghi, they are tactically very smart and well-versed. If you create a problem for them, they will find a way around it.”

On looking ahead to Leicester

“Now we need to rest, chase the dream of reaching the Conference League Final, which will be so tough on Thursday. As I said, if I had to lose, I preferred losing against a team that was stronger.”