Roma coach, Jose Mourinho, praised Paulo Dybala after the Argentine striker’s late goal secured Roma’s victory over Feyenoord in the Europa League quarter-finals.
Feyenoord had taken a 1-0 lead in the first leg, and they scored again in the second leg, putting Roma on the brink of elimination. However, Dybala came off the bench to level the tie with a quick turn and shot, taking the game to extra time.
Roma went on to win 4-2 on aggregate and set up a semi-final against Bayer Leverkusen. Dybala’s goal was his 16th of the season and his fourth in the Europa League, a tally only bettered by Marcus Rashford, Victor Boniface, and Santiago Gimenez. Mourinho praised Dybala’s performance and the impact he made coming off the bench, and he will likely be a key player for Roma in the semi-finals.
“My feeling is that he was seeking the joy, he had lost more than confidence,” Mourinho told Sky Sport Italia.
“He found it here. He has found a coach who understands him, a crowd that loves him and a space on the field in which to be a leader with his quality and personality.
“Dybala is a nice boy. He has the quality to play for the biggest clubs in the world, but he has found joy here.
“I gave him absolute freedom to come on tonight, and he could come off even two minutes later if he didn’t feel up to it. But he played 30 minutes of extra time and 25 minutes regular, and he finished on a high.”
Meanwhile, Dybala also paid tribute to Mourinho who, having guided Roma to the Europa Conference League title last season, is closing in on a sixth triumph in European competition.
“I think everyone knows Mourinho, his history, what he’s done in Europe and at every club he worked at, I think he won something,” the forward added.
“His mentality fuels you. He knew the game could end up like this and pushed us to give something more. He changed the tactical system, we started playing better and dominated extra time for a deserved victory.
“I think we all want to win, which is the most important thing. We have a coach with an incredible mentality. He told us the game would be like that, and he was absolutely right.
“This squad won the Europa Conference League last season, so they know what it takes to win. Now, we hope to go all the way in the Europa League too.“
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator and a recipient of the D9112 Superstar Icon Award, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
