José Mourinho previewed Roma-Udinese earlier today: “The transfer market has just closed, yet you journalists keep insisting on it. I will not talk about it. We lost a game, and there is nothing to add. We look forward and not at the three points we dropped. I was enthusiastic after the Sassuolo game, but it was temporary, and I will not get too down in the dumps now. The club chose me for my level of maturity, balance, and experience.”
“I emphatically celebrated that win because it was my 1000th match, and we scored in the final minute. I always said that Roma start 29 points behind Inter; therefore, I am not too pessimistic. I am sad about it, but we have to stay the course. There is a lot of work to do. We are not contenders for anything, only to win the next game. We have to use the result as extra motivation. Our aim is to be ambitious but serene. There is a middle ground between euphoria and depression, but you get to the extremes too easily here.”
“Matias Vina will be out tomorrow. Riccardo Calafiori is a good player for Roma; maybe four of five other teams would make different choices. He was a little timid against Verona, but he did well. We have had issues in the back. I expect more from fullbacks. He needs time.”
“Bryan Cristante and Jordan Veretout will be in the lineup tomorrow. Other teams can rotate more; Roma can not now. There are some roles where I have more options, while we are more short-handed in others.”
“Udinese did not deserve to lose big to Napoli, as they conceded on set pieces. They are solid and know how to defend and hurt opponents. They are physical but also have technical players.”