Jose Mourinho praised his team’s spirit in an Instagram post following his Roma side’s defeat to Napoli on Sunday evening.
Roma took on league leaders Napoli and lost 2-1 to an 86th minute goal by Giovanni Simeone after holding their own for much of the match.
The defeat was heartbreaking for Roma, who are battling to get back into the top four and return to the Champions League, having made significant progress under Mourinho since 2021.
Despite the defeat, there was a post from Mourinho’s Instagram where he was in praise of his team – something that’s rare after a defeat.
Managers or players usually post celebration pictures after a big win, so to see one after a defeat must be a motivation strategy from Mourinho, as he looks to spur his team for the remainder of the campaign.
He posted the picture of his team with the caption: “What a TEAM what a SPIRIT what a PERFORMANCE. Let’s go… See you on Wednesday at the Olimpico.”
The picture showed many of Roma’s stars – including Tammy Abraham, Paulo Dybala, Andrea Belotti and Stephen El Sharaawy – clearly dejected along with the rest of their coaching staff.
In the press, Mourinho was also happy with his team’s performance: “We played really good football from the first minute. There was a period 10-15 minutes after Osimhen’s goal when we felt the injustice of going 1-0 down.
“Aside from that, the team was always in control, pressed high, recovered the ball, defended well,” he said to DAZN after the game.
There have recently been reports that Mourinho is unhappy at Roma and is looking for a return to England in the next season.
He’s not pleased with the lack of funds he has available to him at Roma and is ideally looking for a move to Chelsea in 2023-24.
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