Furious Jose Mourinho insists Roma side ‘deserved’ to lose 2-0 to Slavia Prague as he claims ‘nothing worked’ in Europa League clash and singles out players who ‘had the wrong attitude’

Jose Mourinho has singled out just one of his Roma players as he delivered a scathing post-mortem following Serie A’s dismal 2-0 defeat to Slavia Prague in Thursday night’s Europa League match.

The Roman side could not stay clear at the top of Group G after a difficult evening in the Czech Republic, in which the home side gave away two second-half goals without reply.

On the receiving end of the same scoreline in the Eternal City, Slavia Prague were not tested by Mourinho’s players in a performance that, according to their head coach, lacked ‘everything’ needed to earn a win.

The result leaves both teams level at the top of the group, with Roma second on goal difference.

Mourinho had no interest in softening the performance in his post-match comments, with only Edoardo Bove escaping group criticism.

The Giallorossi lost 2-0 on the road to Slavia Prague as the chance to top the group slipped from their grasp

But the former Chelsea head coach took the time to praise the work of 21-year-old Edoardo Bove

‘I don’t want to talk much. The players’ decision not to speak to the media was my decision,” Mourinho told the waiting press. “(Andrea) Belotti spoke because it was right after the match. No one is allowed to speak, because there is not much more to say than what I have to say.

‘Slavia Prague really deserved that result, in a positive sense, and we deserved it too, in a negative sense.

‘I didn’t like anything. I have already spoken to the players in the dressing room. Normally I don’t do that because I get so much adrenaline being on the sidelines, but the fact that I was watching it from above, far away from the field, gave me a different kind of peace that allowed me to talk to the people. players.

‘What I said remains between us. I just want to be fair to the Slavia players, who deserved to win 2-0.”

As he pondered the pieces of the defeat, Mourinho admitted that ‘nothing was working’ in Roma’s game plan, and that even injuries within the squad were not enough to excuse the level of their performances.

‘The fact that (Nicola) Zalewski couldn’t play and (Stephan) El Shaarawy played as a wing-back with Belotti at the top left could be used as an excuse. But we were so bad that I don’t want that.

‘Nothing worked. In terms of individuals, very few players had the right attitude, the professional attitude that I demand. Many players had the wrong attitude for a serious game where goals had to be achieved.

‘I’m disappointed. “I don’t want to talk anymore because I have already done my analysis with the players and I will do that tomorrow.”

The former Chelsea and Real Madrid side admitted he had counted himself among the group that deserved defeat at the Fortuna Arena, with only 21-year-old Bove – who came through the club’s academy – spared the mauling.

“Today the best player in our team – the only one I really liked because he gave everything technically, tactically and mentally – was a 20-year-old boy who wasn’t even in the first team two years ago,” Mourinho added.

‘We had one player who played with legs, body and mind – just one. If you have eleven players on the field and only one like that, you can’t win.

‘The only player who didn’t deserve to lose was Bove. Everyone else, including myself, deserved to lose.”

Roma will show no signs of slowing down as they continue their battle to keep pace in Serie A, and must dive straight into preparations for this weekend’s Derby della Capitale against crosstown rivals Lazio.

The team, which is in seventh place, is three places ahead of Maurizio Sarri’s players, but is separated by one point. The former Napoli head coach stoked the rivalry ahead of the derby clash with inflammatory comments about the scheduling of European matches in the derby. week before their meeting.

The midfielder rose through the ranks of Roma’s youth academy, where he has played since the age of ten

Maurizio Sarri had blasted the Portuguese manager before the clash with cutting comments about Roma’s ‘friendly’ match ahead of the Roma-Lazio derby on Sunday

After beating Feyenoord 1-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, Sarri lamented the timing of the derby, with the tie tipped in Roma’s favour.

‘Roma can afford a friendly match on Thursday and tonight we played war. There is a fundamental difference,” Sarri said of the Giallorossi’s meeting with Slavia Prague.

Mourinho responded by attacking Slavia Prague himself, but could not resist backtracking: ‘It’s as if he said Slavia has no quality. I always respect my opponents. Maybe this is the difference between a coach who has won 26 titles and a coach who has barely won anything: that kind of mentality.

‘Every match must be taken seriously, there are no friendly matches. I would like to hear the reaction of the Lega Serie A, because that was an objective and direct criticism. So I wait.’