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Here is what the Roma coach had to say.
How do you explain those seven minutes?
“We got stuck and stumbled at the finish line, in the most unexpected of ways, on corner kicks. We were very passive. We lost a game that we had played in a very impressive way up to then.”
Would you say that Roma dominated the game, at least up until those final minutes?
“I believe that we put up a great performance. It’s hard to look for different situations if one does not examine mental and psychological aspects. They certainly have major assets on corner kicks too. We had a few in the first half, but there wasn’t that negativity that we showed in the final part of the game. However, in the ten final minutes, it almost felt as though we’d become paralysed.”
Mourinho said that at one point, Real Madrid seized the opportunity because you were exhausted, both tactically and physically, because playing at such a fast tempo is tiring.
“To me, they were the ones who looked exhausted. In fact, we could’ve scored a few more goals; it’s a shame we didn’t. We outclassed them, but they did not concede more, they scored more and it’s the goals that count. They were very physical on corner kicks. They also took them very well and their finishes were also good. Apart from that, we outclassed them.”
What conclusions did you draw from your team’s performance?
“We saw the entire match, so of course we must build on those foundations and see every game through. The final minutes are always decisive, even when you are two goals ahead. Even if they brought on very fast, fresh substitutes, one’s assessment of the game can’t start from that alone, because we played against Real Madrid and we did in that particular way. Then of course, we have to look at the negatives as well.”
Would you make those same choices again, in particular in terms of the substitutions?
“Definitely. Some of them were unavoidable. For example, [Gianluca] Mancini was struggling and so we had to intervene. [Leonardo] Balerdi came on, and so did [Konstantinos] Koulierakis. And of course, when you have some defensive absences, you can’t make other types of substitutions.”
How are the injured players?
“We’ll see. Some certainly have some problems right now. [Manu] Kone had a muscle strain, and [Paulo] Dybala also had some physical problems. The others, on the other hand, have had some knocks.”
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