Emotional Mourinho 'shed a tear' as Roma reach Europa Conference League final

An emotional Jose Mourinho likened Roma booking a place in this month's Europa League Conference final as "our Champions League".

A first-half header from Tammy Abraham gave Roma a 1-0 win over Leicester City at Stadio Olimpico and a 2-1 victory on aggregate to send them through to the inaugural Europa Conference League final on May 25, where they will face Feyenoord.

"This is a giant club without the trophy room in relation to the social dimension of the club. So, this is not a trophy, it's only the final but it means a lot for them," said Mourinho.

"Of course I have had bigger moments than this, but I am not feeling for myself, I am feeling for the people and my players. This for us, is our Champions League."

Mourinho, who took over at Roma in May last year, was in tears as he embraced his coaching staff after the win.

"I shed a tear because my emotion was for everyone who loves this club," said Mourinho, who has now reached five European finals with four clubs, having won all his previous ones with Porto, Inter Milan and Manchester United.

"I've had the fortune to play more prestigious finals than this one. But in terms of the way we've created a family atmosphere here, it makes me feel special."

ROMA RATINGS: Rui Patricio 6 – Didn’t have a save to make until the 79th minute, when he first made a comfortable stop to deny a Maddison free-kick, and then reacted to deny Iheanacho’s curling effort. Reuters

Leicester counterpart Brendan Rodgers urged his players to harness their pain to build again.

He said: “It’s a young team and learning all the time, this is a level a lot of them have never been to. It’s only natural but the guys will learn and it’s another experience. It’s a tough one when you lose but it’s important