On target. Roma overcomes Lecce almost easily and enters the quarter-finals of the Italian Cup, despite an embarrassing first half hour. Mourinho makes changes thinking about the next match in the league, a risk given the previous ones, but against a Serie B team it was legitimate to take a risk to let some big players catch their breath. But like a film that has already been seen, the bogeyman of the negative evening is back, with yet another certification that certain players are out of form and others simply are not up to standard.
Once again the technician has to run for cover. With the likes of Zaniolo and Miki in, the music definitely changes. And so comes the well-deserved victory. In the quarter-finals we will meet league leaders Inter Milan, certainly the strongest team at the moment. An Inter that is scary even when deploying the second lines as happened against an excellent Empoli. The same Tuscan team that Roma will face on Sunday at Castellani. A decidedly difficult and dangerous game led by the old acquaintance Andreazzoli, unwelcome here.
Mourinho himself will then return to the Meazza for the first time against the Nerazzurri, he will gather applause from his old audience. But we Roma fans are not so interested. More interesting is the fact that it is time for the team to find more conviction and results, with Sergio Oliveira who will not be Falcao but who is already showing signs of a leader on the pitch. Good also the inclusion of Maitland Niles. The two have certainly brought freshness and solidity to the field. Now it’s time to meet again, after the various tumbles and all the failed opportunities to get closer to fourth place.
Mourinho says it openly, he does not hide. There is an ambitious project, he reiterates that he does not move from Rome, for the next 3 years he will be here with us, but the squad needs to be improved. Too many errors, technical and attitude, those who are not ready or unable can go elsewhere. There is now a line of easier matches in Serie A, but only so to speak. With Cagliari it went quite well, a well-deserved victory but with the usual final trouble, perhaps it is better just to think game by game. No calculations. Then forward with the Italian Cup and the Conference League. Daje Roma.