PARIS – Off the pace in the Italian Serie A, AS Roma may once again be relying on their experienced coach Jose Mourinho to lead them on a long European run in order to save their season.
The 60-year-old Portuguese, a two-time Champions League winner as a coach at Porto and Inter Milan, is into his third campaign in charge in the Italian capital.
He has already led Roma to victory in the inaugural Europa Conference League and then to a Europa League final, which they lost on penalties to Sevilla.
Yet in the Serie A they continue to lag behind, having finished sixth in each of his two campaigns so far.
They are currently seventh, 11 games into the season, and that is only after a dramatic comeback to beat Lecce 2-1 at the Stadio Olimpico last weekend, with Sardar Azmoun and Romelu Lukaku both scoring stoppage-time goals.
Roma are 11 points adrift of the leaders, Mourinho’s old side Inter, and four points behind Napoli in fourth, with a derby showdown against Lazio to come on Sunday.
It is possible, then, that they may require Europa League success if they are to make it into next season’s Champions League, which is the stage where they and Mourinho really want to be.
Handed a kind draw, Roma have a 100 per cent record so far in Group G, having beaten Sheriff Tiraspol 2-1 in Moldova and Swiss side Servette 4-0 at home before a 2-0 win over Slavia Prague last time out.
They now travel to the Czech capital to face Slavia again on Thursday, knowing a win will secure their place in the knockout phase again.
Lukaku’s form has been key for Roma this season, both domestically and in Europe, with the Belgian striker having scored nine times in 12 games since joining on loan from Chelsea at the end of his most recent spell at Inter.
He has notably netted in every Europa League game so far and Roma’s chances of reaching a third European final in as many seasons under Mourinho may hinge on Lukaku staying fit and firing.
“He scores everywhere and in every competition. When he is in your side, you have more chance to win,” Mourinho said after the win over Slavia a fortnight ago.
The praise continued following the win over Lecce, in which Lukaku became the hero with the winner, having missed a penalty early in the game.
“I know him better than anyone, Lukaku is a very, very emotionally sensitive man and when he misses an early penalty, it hurts his heart for the rest of the game,” the Roma coach added.
“This is why scoring the last-minute winner could not be better, as it will help Romelu sleep better tonight and wake up with a smile.”
Roma are not the only team who can clinch a place in the knockout phase this week – Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool will advance if they can make it four wins out of four in Group E when they visit Toulouse, having beaten the French side 5-1 at home a fortnight ago.
The Reds will be wary of a wounded Toulouse, who lost 2-1 to two late Le Havre goals in the 83rd and 96th minutes in Ligue 1 over the weekend.
Toulouse coach Carles Martinez Novell said: “The team is now very, very sad, angry. The feeling is complicated because there is a lot of rage.
“We will prepare for the match against Liverpool. The stadium will help us and I am sure the team will be competitive.”
German Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen also have maximum points and so could wrap up a berth in the knockout stages with a win over Qarabag in Azerbaijan.
Flying under the guidance of Xabi Alonso, Leverkusen are unbeaten in all competitions this season and have won their last 10 games, with Nigerian striker Victor Boniface already into double figures for goals.
He netted six times in last season’s Europa League for Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise before making the move to Germany in July. AFP
