Jose Mourinho takes the blame for Roma’s 6-1 THRASHING at the hands of Norwegian minnows FK Bodo as he chose a weakened team – with boss admitting opponents had ‘more quality’
- Roma were thumped 6-1 by Norwegian side Bodo in Conference League
- The unfancied outfit ran riot against Jose Mourinho’s side, who rested key men
- Bodo went 2-0 up before Carles Perez pulled one back in the first half
- Erik Botheim and Ola Solbakken both netted braces to make it a memorable day
Jose Mourinho‘s Roma were hammered 6-1 by Norwegian minnows FK Bodo in a massive shock in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday night.
The unfancied and relatively unheard of outfit ran riot against the Serie A giants with a four goal blitz in the second half to make it one of the most memorable nights in the club’s history.
Bodo had gone 2-0 up in the first half before Carles Perez pulled one back – but Roma, who had fielded a B team in Norway, were swept aside in stunning fashion.
Jose Mourinho’s Roma were thrashed 6-1 by Norwegian minnows Bodo on Thursday night
Patrick Berg celebrates after putting the Norwegian outfit 2-0 up on a memorable evening
Erik Botheim (left) had scored a brace – with a goal in each half – to inspire his side
Mourinho took the blame for the shock loss and claimed Bodo’s side was stronger than the second string he had put out.
It was one of biggest defeats of Mourinho’s coaching career and the first time in 1,008 games as a coach that one of his teams have conceded six goals or more.
‘The responsibility is mine,’ he said. ‘I lined up players who played less, I decided to make these changes and rest many players.
‘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 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.
‘We lost to a team that has more quality than us. Bodo has more quality than our starters tonight. It’s that simple.’
Lorenzo Pellegrini – Roma’s captain who came on in the 60th minute of the game – apologised to supporters and said the team were given a ‘slap in the face’, vowing to learn from the humbling defeat.
‘There’s little I can say, I can only apologise and get back on track stronger than before. We said what we needed to in the locker room and it remains there,’ he told Sky Sport Italia.
Mourinho named a B-team for the Conference League clash but his side were put to the sword
The former Chelsea and Spurs boss took full responsibility for the loss and said Bodo were simply better than the players he had put out
Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini said the players will learn from their ‘slap in the face’ at Bodo
‘Sometimes you need a slap to learn and we got a slap in the face today, one we fully deserved. We’ve got to make sure that we learn from this embarrassment and keep that attitude for the rest of the season.’
When asked if he was concerned by the nature of the loss, the midfielder said there was only feelings of anger, which will inspire the side to redeem themselves.
‘No, I am angry. I am not worried, not disappointed, just angry. From tomorrow we have to work even harder, because there are games to be won.’
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