Jose Mourinho (almost) takes full responsibility for humiliating Roma defeat

Never change, Jose

Just for a second, it really did seem like Jose Mourinho was going to do the unthinkable: admit that something was *entirely* his fault. Thursday was a particularly rough night for the former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham boss. His Roma side were embarrassed 6-1 by FK Bodø/Glimt in a competition we still have to google to make sure we get its name right. The defeat in Norway was one of the heaviest of his 1008-game managerial career and the first time one of his teams had conceded over five goals in a single match. https://twitter.com/btsportfootball/status/1451256602997272577 Speaking to Sky Italia after the game, Mourinho appeared set to take all of the blame for his side's thrashing, acknowledging that his team selection had played its part. "I decided to play with this line-up, so the responsibility is mine," he admitted. But of course, Jose was never going to leave it at that.

"I did it with good intentions," he added. "To give an opportunity to those who work hard and to rotate the squad on a synthetic pitch in cold weather.

"I never disguised the fact we were a squad with real limitations. We have 13 players who represent one team, the others are on a different level.

"We lost against a team that showed more quality on the night. It's that simple."

Cold weather. Synthetic pitch. Players he chose are a bit shit. See? Even when it's his fault, it's never actually his fault.

Thankfully for Jose, the defeat hasn't put too much of a dent in Roma's dream of lifting the... *checks Google again*... UEFA Conference League. Having won their opening two games in the competition, they are still on course to make it out of their group.

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• Jose Mourinho admits he might have been ‘too harsh’ on Luke Shaw