The Portuguese boss was left seething with a number of his players after his AS Roma side were hammered 6-1 by Norwegian outfit Bodo/Glimt in the Europa Conference League
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Jose Mourinho asks for time as he is unveiled as Roma manager
Jose Mourinho is set to punish five members of his AS Roma squad for their dismal displays against Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt – by making them watch the next game from the stands.
The Serie A titans welcome Napoli to the Stadio Olimpico as they look to end their opponents 100 percent per-cent start to the campaign – but will be without a number of key players as they take their punishment from the boss.
The 6-1 mauling at the hands of the Norwegian minnows has been widely dubbed as one of the most embarrassing defeats in the club’s history.
It also marked Mourinho’s heaviest defeat as a manager – famed for his defensive prowess, no side led by the Portuguese boss has ever shipped six goals in one game before Thursday night.
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Mourinho did not hide how he felt about the performances of his players after the game.
According to Calciomercato, the former Chelsea boss was particularly let down by the showings from Marash Kumbulla, Amadou Diawara, Riccardo Calafiori, Gonzalo Villar and Borja Mayoral.
As a result, all five are set to watch on from the terraces for the visit of Napoli on Sunday evening.
None of them are injured or suspended, but simply out of favour under Mourinho – who oversaw two defeats last week to Juventus in the league before the Europa Conference League humiliation.
After the full-time whistle, Mourinho highlighted the gulf in quality between his first-choice players and those that featured in Norway.
“We have a very good team, we don’t have a very good squad,” Mourinho told Sky Italia.
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“Today, we didn’t play with the team, we played with the squad, and we were punished by that.
“If I could use the same players every match I would. It’s risky because there’s a huge gulf between our first choice and second choice players. I expected better, but it’s my responsibility.”
Mourinho went on to double down on his earlier claims while talking to Swedish outlet Viaplay : “They have more quality than us – their first team is a much better team than our second team.
“So it’s my mistake. I wanted to rest players after Juventus, and before a game against Napoli, and I made this decision, and in the end, they are better players than my players, they are a better team than my team.
“The 6-1 could be five, could be seven, could be eight, because the game went in the direction where you lose complete control of the emotions of everything.
“But the reality of the game is the best team with the best players won.”
