Mourinho Says Juventus Only Defends And Beats Roma Through Goals

AS Roma were unlucky because they lost through Juventus' goal. (X/@OfficialASRoma)

JAKARTA - Coach Jose Mourinho said AS Roma played better than Juventus despite losing 1-0 in the Italian Serie A match, Sunday, December 31 in the morning WIB. Juve actually defended more and won through a goal of profit.

Roma performed optimally despite failing to score in the match at home to Juve at the Allianz Arena Stadium. Mourinho said Roma actually created more chances than Juve who tended to survive.

However, l Giallorossi was only unlucky for failing to score. The chances that have been created cannot be converted into goals even though striker Paulo Dybala has returned to play.

Playing for 90 minutes, this Argentine national team striker was unable to make a difference against his former club.

"We discussed this before the match. As expected, we created more opportunities because we faced opponents with defenses like the walls in Turin," Mourinho was quoted as saying by Football Italia.

"The results of this match were disappointing, especially after the first half ended 0-0. Because we showed better quality in the first half. There was a shot that hit the crossbar and there were at least three or four chances that endangered their goal," he said.

Although Roma played offensively well, the weak final finish made them fail to score.

On the other hand, Juve played efficiently. When he got a good chance, midfielder Adrien Rabiot managed to break into the Roma goal which was guarded by Rui Patricio.

"We couldn't score and then conceded with a profit kick when the second half just started," he said.

"After conceding, the situation became more difficult. Juve played deeper and their defense was like a wall that was difficult to penetrate," said Mourinho.

"Of course strategically I am happy with our game. How do we approach this match. But the problem is we failed to get the points. Even though the important thing is the final result," said the former Inter Milan coach.

The result made Roma close in 2023 with defeat. The team was ranked seventh by pocketing 28 points. Roma were successfully passed by Atalanta and Napoli equaled their points.

Roma has ambitions to penetrate the top four as well as enter the Champions League zone. However, L Lupi is still five points behind Fiorentina who is ranked fourth after winning 1-0 over Torino.