Jose Mourinho insists ‘Real Madrid were impossible to stop’ in the final 20 minutes of their 4-3 victory. ‘They thought the game was dead, but it was the Roma players who were dead.’
It was a special night for the Special One, returning to the Stadio Olimpico for the first time as an opponent and receiving several emotional banners from the home fans, including a giant depiction of him holding the Conference League trophy.
He thought that he was going to leave here empty-handed after the Giallorossi surged into a 3-1 lead with Marten de Roon’s strike and a Donyell Malen brace, but corner kicks made the difference.
Real Madrid have scored a lot of late goals this season and continued the trend, as Carlos Espi, Endrick and former Roma defender Antonio Rudiger all met set plays to turn the game around from the 83rd minute to the 90th.
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Mourinho and the Real Madrid avalanche
“You can say it was two games in one, Roma were superior in every aspect for the first, and then Real Madrid were impossible to stop during that 20 minutes,” Mourinho told Amazon Prime Video Italia.
“They surprised us at the start by using Matias Soulé on the wing, creating superiority in that area. We conceded a ridiculous goal that you cannot allow at this level.
“After going 3-1 down, perhaps everyone thought the game was dead, but the only ones who were dead were the Roma players. It is very difficult to play with this intensity and the style of football that they have.
“We made some changes, because conceding three, four or five doesn’t make much difference. Roma were unable to handle the avalanche of attacking football that we unleashed.”
The most important substitution was Endrick, a player who Roma have tried to sign over the summer and will attempt to get on loan again in January.
“I was asked yesterday whether Roma could get Endrick on loan and I said it was impossible,” replied Mourinho.
“It’s impossible because I know his talent and what he can give. Poor Mario Hermoso, he had to deal with Yan Diomande for 70 minutes, we killed him. Then Koulierakis came on and I don’t think he could do much about it either.”
This is the second time Real Madrid have beaten an Italian team in the Champions League when hardly deserving to, as their 2-1 victory over Inter at the Bernabeu was chaotic and wide open too.
Mourinho made a gesture towards the stands at the final whistle, what did that mean?
“Nothing, we won and I was celebrating. I have the utmost respect for Roma.”