Roma boss Jose Mourinho was vocal about the pitch at the Olimpic Grande Torino, after the Giallorossi were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw by Ivan Juric’s men.
Roma have won just once in the whole league season so far and that win came against Empoli last week. Today was another day of disappointment for Roma, as they let a 1-0 lead slip late in the game. Romelu Lukaku had scored his second goal for the club, but Duvan Zapata equalised late. The Giallorossi had initially planned to sign Zapata but both the Colombian and Lukaku scored in the same game.
After the draw, Mourinho spoke to DAZN (via Gianluca di Marzio) and he stated: “Why didn’t we win? Because we conceded a goal from a dead ball; playing against Torino is difficult, as against all the teams that have this style. They interpret it very well with the their physicality and intensity, it was a difficult match to play and from my point of view we did well. Creating against them is difficult, and so is playing first, as you should do against a team like Toro, on a pitch that … let’s say that I will no longer criticize the Olimpico in Rome, because it has a pitch that in comparison seems like a catwalk.”
Despite the draw, Mourinho praised the performance of the side and believes that they have dropped two points despite their showing.
“We played a game of great sacrifice and great effort, with people like Paredes who a few weeks ago couldn’t play even fifteen minutes, with the new boys and a defensive line that I really liked. Doing better against this Torino side is difficult, the objective is always to do better but it was a very difficult match for both teams. When you score a goal from a dead ball almost at the end the feeling is of having lost two points , but the fact that they had a full week of preparation unlike us makes me angry with the result but not with the players.”
Roma are currently 13th in the Serie A table, with Inter currently at the top. Because of their poor start to the season, Mourinho’s meen are currently two points away from the top ten.
Kaustubh Pandey | GIFN
