Jose Mourinho and Roma left frustrated as Leicester City selection decision backfires

Jose Mourinho was forced to call on his big players for Roma’s Serie A clash against Bologna on Sunday evening after making six changes to his starting XI.

Like Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers, Mourinho opted to name a changed side for the league encounter taking place just days before a match he has described as a ‘final’. City travel to the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday with the tie locked at 1-1.

City made eight changes to their starting lineup for the weekend’s trip to Tottenham, a game which they lost 3-1. But they weren’t the only ones, with Roma changing six of their starting lineup.

Tammy Abraham and Lorenzo Pellegrini were among those left on the bench at the start of the game. But with the scores locked at 0-0 early in the second half, Mourinho called on the calvary.

Rick Karsdorp, Pellegrini, Abraham and Nicola Zalewski all came on in a quadruple change by the Roma boss in the 58th minute of the game. Their introduction was not ideal for the Italian side, with Mourinho explaining that the changes had been made due to tiredness.

“It’s not an easy situation, because today Leicester made changes for their Premier League game,” Mourinho told DAZN before kick-off.

“We’ve got Thursday’s match in our minds, but at the same time we also need to do well in Serie A, because it’s a big difference between finishing fifth and eighth in Serie A.

“I had to rest some players, as they were simply too tired. I wanted to show my faith in all the lads, we are a united group along with the fans tonight.”

The game saw one of Mourinho’s backroom staff shown a red card as tempers flared in the technical area. The score was locked at 0-0 going into added time, with City fans happy to see Roma expending energy as they searched for