Roma ready to face the sharks, says Mourinho

AS Roma manager Jose Mourinho said it was important the Serie A club had not been eliminated from the Europa League but added his side would now face the "shark" teams who had been knocked out of the Champions League.

Lorenzo Pellegrini scored two second-half penalties as Roma came from behind to defeat Bulgarian visitors Ludogorets 3-1 on Thursday and finish second in Group C to earn a place in the knockout playoffs.

"In the playoffs we will meet teams on a different level. It is important for us to have qualified, but now come the sharks," the Portuguese coach told Sky Sport.

"To progress in the Europa League makes us proud, moving to the Conference League and becoming one of the strongest and likely to win teams was not the goal."

Roma won the inaugural Europa Conference League last season under Mourinho, their first major European title in more than 60 years.

"Maybe we don't have the conditions to have the celebrations like we did last year, but after our (1-0) defeat to Napoli (in Serie A) we won three games in a row," Mourinho said.

Another key clash awaits Roma on Sunday in Serie A against Lazio, who are fifth in the table and trail their fourth-placed local rivals by just one point.

"In my head the most important match is still the next one... On Sunday a great game takes place, which we certainly like to play," Mourinho added.