Jose Mourinho has defended his decision to prevent Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini from taking a penalty in the win over Udinese on Sunday.
Roma consolidated their position in the top four of Serie A with a comfortable 3-0 victory against Udinese at the Stadio Olimpico. Edoardo Bove opened the scoring before second-half strikes from Pellegrini and Tammy Abraham made sure of the points.
But despite picking up a third straight Serie A win to create a five-point gap to fifth place Inter Milan, Mourinho was forced to defend himself in his post-match interview. The Roma boss made the decision to take Pellegrini off penalties after he missed a critical one in the 1-0 defeat against Feyenoord in the first leg of the Europa Conference League quarter-final in midweek.
As a result, it was Bryan Cristante who took the responsibility, firing his penalty against the post before Bove converted the rebound. Mourinho said he thought Pellegrini needed a spell out of the spotlight to regain his confidence.
“He needed to win, to play without any pressure weighing on him for a missed penalty or recent performances that were not fantastic,” he explained. “There are reasons for that and we don’t always have to keep telling people that. He has my faith.
“My decision not to let him take the penalty was simply because he did not need that extra pressure. In fact, I told him if there’s a penalty for 2-0, it is yours, but if it is a decisive one, it is not for you today.
“If some comments on social media were negative after Feyenoord, the reality is what we saw today, face to face with the fans, understanding we are all together, in good times and bad.”
Pellegrini has endured a rocky spell, with the penalty miss against Feyenoord prompting a minor backlash on social media. However, the Roma fans showed their enduring support for the academy graduate at the Udinese match.
The ultras in the Curva Sud held up a banner which read: “In good times and bad, the captain remains the captain.” It was Pellegrini’s 100th match as Roma skipper – and he marked it with a well-taken goal.
He made it 2-0 with a cool finish from Andrea Belotti’s through ball on the counter-attack before Roma goalkeeper Rui Patricio kept out Roberto Pereyra’s penalty following a handball. Abraham then completed the scoring with a near-post header from Leonardo Spinazzola’s cross in added time.
Pellegrini now has six goals and eight assists in 37 appearances across all competitions this season. The 26-year-old attacking midfielder has played 230 times for his hometown club and remains a key player for Mourinho.
Roma will host Feyenoord in the second leg of their quarter-final on Thursday before travelling to Atalanta on Monday in Serie A. They are the defending champions in the Europa Conference League, having beaten Feyenoord in the inaugural final last May.
