VOTI&STATS – Slavia Prague-Roma: Mourinho saves Bove, not even him is enough

The Europa League match between Slavia Prague and Roma had previously been marred by controversy, with Roma coach Jose Mourinho indirectly agreeing with Sarri’s insinuation that the match with Slavia was “just a friendly”. The Roma coach emphasized the seriousness of the official competition but his players betrayed him by approaching the game with a lack of attitude that is not seen in pre-season friendlies. The result was a 2-0 defeat for Roma, which will force them to put in extra effort to advance to the next round of the competition without first going through the playoff rounds.

Mourinho stated, “Very few players had the right attitude and professionalism that I like. Many did not have the correct attitude for a serious match with concrete objectives. Only Bove did not deserve to lose, but if only a 20-year-old boy has the right attitude, we cannot make it.” This was reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport.

La Gazzetta dello Sport disagreed with Mourinho, giving Bove a slightly lower score than he had suggested and awarding the only 6 to goalkeeper Svilar. They said, “He barely had any time to react. In the second half, he saved shots by Masopust and Provod, but he never exuded confidence.” Mourinho did not fare better than his team and received a failing grade with a 5. “Accusations against the team are not enough. This is not the first time Roma have been just waiting. Zero shots in 45 minutes are a serious accusation,” was the evaluation from the outlet.