We were so good for 70 minutes but then there was this psychological collapse, claims Jose Mourinho
AS Roma boss Jose Mourinho has accused his team of being weak and having a psychological collapse after they gave up a 3-1 lead against Juventus to lose 4-3. In a thrilling encounter, the Serie A side lost to Massimiliano Allegri's men with the Old Lady scoring thrice in seven minutes.
Despite just two wins in their last six games, and a 3-1 loss to AC Milan last time around, many expected Juventus to just roll over AS Roma. But somehow things didn't go according to plan as Roma had a 3-1 lead by the 53rd minute with goals from Tammy Abraham, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Lorenzo Pellegrini proving enough to put the home side in a commanding position. Yet, somehow they couldn't sustain it and collapsed as Juventus scored not once but thrice to win.
The Old Lady netted thrice in seven minutes and then Wojciech Szczesny saved Pellegrini's penalty to ensure that Massimiliano Allegri's side walked away with all three points. The loss had Jose Mourinho furious and the Portuguese manager admitted that his side suffered a psychological collapse. The Roma boss further added that they were in control and in good shape for 70 minutes but then were too weak and collapsed.
"We were in total control for 70 minute. The team played really well and had the mentality of taking control, we came out and started strong. We had this idea of the high press, of controlling the tempo and taking the initiative. It was so good for 70 minutes, then there was this psychological collapse," Mourinho said, reported Sky Sports.
"The 3-2 killed us, because Felix [Afena-Gyan] had an extraordinary game, which finished with a sprint against [Juan] Cuadrado. I take him off and his replacement [Eldor Shomurodov] gets it all wrong. When we allowed them back in for 3-2, a team with a strong mentality like Juventus, a strong character.
"The fear set in. A psychological complex. It's not a problem for me having 3-2, it's a problem for them. For my team. At the end of the day, when you're in the s***, you get back on your feet and find your character. But there are people in this locker room who are a bit too nice, a bit too weak. I already told the players, if the game had ended at the 70th minute, it would've been an extraordinary performance. Unfortunately, it didn't end then."