‘They know how much they struggled against us’: Roma boss Jose Mourinho insists his side deserved more from narrow defeat by Juventus having seen them lose after a penalty was given instead of a goal
- Jose Mourinho’s Roma were unlucky to suffer defeat vs Juventus on Sunday
- They thought they had scored but ref gave a penalty instead – which was missed
- Mourinho hopes Juve go public with praise for Roma after congratulating them
Roma boss Jose Mourinho insists his side did not deserve to lose 1-0 to Juventus after the team were awarded a penalty instead of a goal – and claims their rivals ‘know how much they struggled against us’.
Mourinho’s side thought they had levelled the scores at 1-1 through Tammy Abraham in the first half, only to realise that the referee had blown his whistle and given them a penalty instead of the goal – which they went on to miss.
Juventus then saw out the 1-0 win, leaving Mourinho and his entire squad frustrated, but the former Chesea, Man United and Spurs boss claimed their rivals congratulated the team for their performance after the game.
Jose Mourinho was left frustrated with the decision to disallow his Roma side’s equaliser
Mourinho says he hopes Juventus go public with praise for his side after congratulating them
Speaking after the controversial defeat, former Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United boss Mourinho said: ‘Today I only say a great Roma, the only thing I can say to all my players. We are talking about a defeat and zero points but I can only say a great Roma in all aspects, compliments to all my players.
‘Obviously it’s a defeat and it’s always a defeat but if I look at the project I must also look at the team’s growth and the way of playing. I can make a mistake or have a different opinion, but the team that most deserved to win, lost.
‘I hope that all the words we heard from Juve in the locker room, maybe someone will say them publicly because my team deserves it. They know how much they struggled against us. They know it perfectly. I won here without really deserving it and lost today with my team with our qualities and limitations played a game going in the direction where we want to go.’
After the game Mourinho goaded the Juventus fans inside the stadium by holding up three fingers – again – to signify the treble he won in Italy with Inter Milan.
Roma were left livid after Tammy Abraham’s goal was ruled out and they got a penalty instead
Jordan Veretout stepped up to take the spot kick but it was saved by Wojciech Szczesny
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Portuguese wasn’t given the best reception by the Allianz Arena crowd, but it was the Juve fans who left the happiest at full-time.
Moise Kean, on loan from Everton, put Juve ahead early on in the match, before Abraham thought he had levelled proceedings just before half-time.
However, Roma were instead given a penalty by referee Daniele Orsato for a foul on Henrikh Mkhitaryan by Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny that had occurred in the build-up to the goal.
Mourinho also goaded the Juventus fans with a three-finger gesture to signify his Inter treble
Moise Kean celebrates scoring what proved to the only goal of the game in the 16th minute
To compound Roma’s misery, Jordan Veretout’s penalty was then kept out by Szczesny, with Juve holding on for all three points.
Roma remain above Juventus and in the top four of Serie A, although their three dropped points leaves them nine points off leaders Napoli, who are yet to drop a single point.
Juve, meanwhile, are seventh and 10 points off the top, although they have now found some form with four wins on the spin.
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