Jose Mourinho’s Roma were defeated 6-1 in the Europa Conference League by Bodø/Glimt, a Norwegian club that is relatively unheard of. Interestingly, they are the reigning champions of the Norwegian first division but don’t have a badge on Google right now.
Roma had a heavily rotated lineup for their game against the Norwegian club, but nobody could have expected such a one-sided result against a manager of Mourinho’s pedigree. Here is what the Special One had to say about the game afterwards:
“I decided to play with this line-up, so the responsibility is mine. I did it with good intentions, to give an opportunity to those who work hard and to rotate the squad on a synthetic pitch in cold weather. I decided to rest many players.
“We lost against a team that showed more quality on the night. It’s that simple. If I could always play with the same XI, then I would. It’s risky, because we have a huge gap in quality between the two groups of players.
“I knew the limits of this squad, it is not new to me, but I still expected a better response. As I said, it’s my choice to play them, so my responsibility. “I never disguised the fact we were a squad with real limitations. We have 13 players who represent one team, the others are on a different level.
“At least the positive thing from now on is that nobody will ask me why I always use the same players.”
Roma will have the chance to reply directly to Bodø/Glimt as they will be hosting them at the Stadio Olimpico in their next Conference League fixture.
