This weekend, Serie A fans will witness the Rome derby taking place between AS Roma and Lazio. While coach Jose Mourinho had not yet spoken, coach Maurizio Sarri suddenly attacked his opponent by saying that Roma only had to go through a friendly match in the Europa League in midweek.
Speaking at a press conference after the win over Feyenoord in the Champions League group stage, Sarri shared:
“On Thursday, Roma could see it as a friendly, and we went through a battle today. There is a fundamental difference.”
“If you asked me if it was smart to arrange the derby in the week when both teams were playing in the European Cup, I would say, I don’t think it was a smart decision. To me, it seems like Those people don’t understand football, they don’t know what the derby means.”
“However, with Roma’s current position in the rankings, they can rest their key players.”
Mourinho quickly “retorted” his colleague.
Compared to Feyenoord, Roma’s opponent – Slavia Praha, is a somewhat more unfamiliar name to fans. However, that does not mean they are considered an “easy to bully” team, and in the first leg, Mourinho and his team faced many difficulties to win all 3 points against the representative from the Czech Republic. Therefore, faced with Sarri’s comments, the Portuguese strategist immediately responded.
“If anyone feels offended by Sarri’s statements, it’s Slavia fans, not me.”, Mourinho said in the pre-match press conference.
“It’s as if Sarri said Slavia don’t have quality, I always respect my opponents and I said they are a very strong team.”
“The difference between someone who has won 26 titles and someone who has won few is exactly this: every match is a serious match, and there is no such thing as a friendly. For me, every match is important.”
Roma lost convincingly to Slavia.
This morning, the confrontation between Slavia and Roma officially took place, and it can be said Mourinho was absolutely right to appreciate the home team at Eden Arena, because the Giallorossi must accept defeat. Furthermore, this was a comprehensive loss for Roma. They had a relatively poor position, conceding 2 goals and only launching 5 shots throughout the match.
As for Mourinho, there is no such thing as “The Special One” keeping key players, when most of the key players such as Romelu Lukaku, Gianluca Mancini, Houssem Aouar or Leandro Paredes all appear in the starting lineup, while Renato Sanches, Paulo Dybala or Bryan Cristante were also brought on from the bench. However, Roma cannot avoid a defeat and is still facing the prospect of being eliminated from the Europa League.
Huynh Phong | 12:13 November 10, 2023
