The Portuguese also sees Salzburg at an advantage in preparation for the duels for entry into the Europa League round of 16 – due to the lower quality of the Austrian Bundesliga.
“Salzburg play in a league where they have easy games”
“We don’t play in a league like Salzburg. We play in a league where every match is very difficult, where every point is worth its weight in gold for us,” explained Mourinho. “Salzburg play in a league where they are dominant, where they have easy games. They can rotate players.” While Salzburg are visiting WSG Tirol on Sunday before the second leg in Rome next Thursday, Roma are hosting Hellas Verona in Serie A.
“I don’t have a match plan for next Thursday yet. I don’t even have one for Sunday. And that’s all I’m thinking about at the moment,” said Mourinho before leaving the catacombs in Wals-Siezenheim. Another headache for the 60-year-old is the health of attacking star Paulo Dybala. The Argentine world champion stayed in the dressing room at the break with a muscular problem. On Friday there was a slight all-clear: only an overload of the hamstrings. The 29-year-old should be able to play in the second leg.
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For Mourinho, the better team lost
With or without Dybala, Mourinho felt his side were in control of the game in Salzburg. “We dominated the game, always had control,” said the highly decorated coach. “We missed some incredible chances and there was a clear penalty that was denied to us before the break. But that’s football. It often happens that the team that’s better on the field loses. That was a prime example for this.”
Mourinho therefore did not want to say any negative words about his players or even criticize them individually. The Romans were caught off guard when Nicolas Capaldo conceded late (88′). “It’s probably because my defenders were a bit tired and lost their attention,” said Mourinho, who took charge of Roma in 2021 and led them to triumph in the newly created Conference League last year.
In the league, after 22 of 38 rounds, his team is tied in fourth place with third-placed Atalanta Bergamo and fifth-placed defending champion AC Milan. The lucrative qualification for the Champions League is at stake. The importance of the Europa League also shows that the second leg against Salzburg is already sold out. Mourinho promised “an audience that, as always, will be behind the team”.
