Knew limits of some of our players but expected more response, says Jose Mourinho
Oct 22, 2021
Bodo [Norway], October 22 : AS Roma head coach Jose Mourinho stated that he knew the limits of his players but he expected more response from the team during their match against Bodo/Glimt in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night.
AS Roma crashed to a humiliating 6-1 defeat against the team from Norway at the Aspmyra Stadion. A Jose Mourinho side conceded six goals in a game for the first time - in what was the 1008th match of his coaching career - as Bodo/Glimt earned the most famous success in their history.
"Look, if I could always play with the same guys then I would. But I think that if I did that I would be taking some big risks because there is a big difference in the quality between one group of players and another. And in a group stage match like this, when there are six games and we already have six points with two more games to come in Rome, I decided to make the changes I did," said the head coach post-match, as per AS Roma's official website.
"I knew the limits of some of our players, it's nothing new, but obviously I expected more of a response. But as the decision was mine, so it is me that has to take responsibility," he added.
The Portuguese also admitted that such a defeat leaves a long-lasting impact on the team. "It always leaves an impact. I don't have any doubt about that. But I've already spoken to the lads in the dressing room and I was honest with them," he stated.
On the field, Erik Botheim and Patrick Berg gave the Norwegian outfit a dream start, but a comeback looked inevitable after Carles Perez reduced arrears in the 28th minute.
Instead, Kjetil Knutsen's men produced the performance of their lives, scoring four times after the breakthrough Botheim, Ola Solbakken (2) and Amahl Pellegrino to leapfrog the Italian giants at the top of Group C.
