Mourinho: "We couldn't let this chance pass us by"

I'll start with your celebration, which was beautiful, perhaps one of relief, at the end of a match that seemed cursed.

"It was very quick, because I wanted to talk to the players afterwards – the game wasn't over and there were still a few minutes to play and the team was unbalanced.

"Today we espoused the old philosophy that losing by one or by 10 goals is the same thing. In the last 10 minutes we could have lost by two or by three goals. And at that moment there, the team was unbalanced. We finished the game with five offensive players, with [Andrea] Belotti the fifth on the right.

"The boys were extraordinary and so was the crowd, because usually, when the home team is losing 1-0 with 10 minutes to go and defeat is very, very close, you don't usually see this passion and this connection between the fans and the players. They deserved it: the players and the fans.

"In the first half, I'm not saying the game could have been put to bed, but we certainly could have been in front. The players deserved it because they showed heart and responded to a very risky situation.

"Lecce did not fall short of my expectations, which is what I said yesterday at the press conference. I said they are a very well coached and organised team, with those three very quick attackers on the break. I feel sorry for them because they did an extraordinary job. I'm also sorry for [Wladimiro] Falcone, because – we've already joked a bit together – he says he's a big Roma fan, but when he plays against us he saves practically everything."

It can no longer be a coincidence that this team picks up so many points late on in games. Is it a matter of heart, character, mentality? How would you describe it?

"I describe it by talking about heart, mentality and mainly this connection with the fans. I have coached six, seven teams and I don't remember any situations like this – losing at home in the final 10 minutes – when the fans keep going for you. I think the reason is this connection.

"Then, coaches can make changes, but the truth is that the team was totally unbalanced. Okay, we had people on the pitch who can score and a build-up of forwards who can cause problems, sometimes creating defensive chaos for the opponents. But the truth is that Lecce could have scored a second. They had that chance. It was a crazy game, which in the end went our way, and obviously these are three very important points."

You kept Paulo Dybala on the pitch for 97 minutes. And the more he played, the better he played. His fitness was a pleasant surprise.

"He did some wonderful things in the first half. Dybala is an important player for us. But I don't think what we saw today is a true representation of Paulo's condition: he played with that wave of emotion and in a team that plays like this when they're up against it, and he overdid it. But surprisingly, I spoke to him just now to tell him that perhaps it would be better for him to stay in Rome and not travel with the team to Prague, to prepare for the derby, but Paulo told me that he wants to come and he wants to play."

Looking ahead to the next game, does this win and the fact you're ahead of Lazio provide an extra boost?

"It's not the fact we're ahead of Lazio, but that in the same weekend so many top teams in the league dropped points. We talked about this in the dressing room at half-time: Lazio, Atalanta and Milan lost, and one of Fiorentina and Juventus will lose, or they will draw and both drop two points. That's not normal. Normally, nobody drops points.

"So this was a situation that we could not let pass us by. These three points are really important for us, because now we are closer to all these teams that are aiming for the top of the table."

What was that kiss for Romelu Lukaku, who scored after missing his first penalty in Italy, about?

"The first in Italy and the second with me! He missed one with Chelsea, in the European Super Cup against Bayern Munich. Only those who take penalties miss them. I am never sad about a player missing one.

"The decision not to let Paulo take the penalty was because he did not feel comfortable striking the ball from a standing position. His ligament suffers a bit with the power of striking a dead ball: no corners, no direct free kicks, no penalties. That's why Romelu took it – a player in whom we have great confidence and who did very well in training yesterday.

"The problem is that Romelu is an ultra-emotional boy: I know him better than anyone, because I have coached him at three different teams. He is a very sensitive boy – he misses a penalty early in the game and his heart and soul cry, and he suffers.

"So for him to score the winning goal, for me it couldn't have been better, because it meant victory for the team and means Romelu can sleep a bit easier, waking up with a smile on his face, because he really is a boy with a big heart."