Serie A: Mourinho bemoans ‘too weak, too nice’ players
Jose Mourinho blasted his Roma players for being “too nice and too weak” on Sunday after they threw away a two-goal lead in the space of eight devastating minutes to lose 4-3 to Juventus.
Having been the better team, and 3-1 ahead with 20 minutes remaining, Roma fell apart in barely believable fashion and found themselves behind with 76 minutes on the clock.
Quick-fire goals from Manuel Locatelli, Dejan Kulusevski and Mattia De Sciglio left the Stadio Olimpico in Rome stunned and Mourinho questioning the character of a team who also missed a penalty after going behind and sits eighth in Serie A as a result.
“It was 70 minutes of complete control… We did very well for 70 minutes, but after that it was a psychological collapse,” Mourinho told DAZN.
“When you’re in the s***, you’re supposed to get back up and show what your made of, but there are people in the changing room here who are a bit too nice, a bit too weak.
“For 70 minutes we put in a performance that is also the result of the talent we have… (but) there is often a lack of personality in how they manage their emotions.”
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The crushing defeat for Roma is yet another against one of Italy’s big clubs this season and comes a few days after they were outplayed and beaten by an AC Milan team missing almost their entire first-choice backline and with key players either at the Africa Cup of Nations or out with Covid-19.
“I told the players after the Milan defeat that they need to have a mentality more like mine,” Mourinho added.
“I’m not the one who needs to get a psychological profile like theirs — I don’t want to.”