Lukaku covers Roma limitations – Mourinho claims

Jose Mourinho has praised Romelu Lukaku, while opening up about Roma’s tactical choices as they face Monza in Serie A fixture today.

He acknowledged that Romelu Lukaku plays a crucial role in compensating for the team’s limitations.

Despite having Diego Llorente available for selection, Mourinho opted to place him on the bench and shifted Bryan Cristante into the center of a three-man defense before the game.

Mourinho explained his decision, saying, “Llorente does not have 90 minutes in his legs, it would be a risk to start with him. I think if all goes well, if he plays a few minutes today, he can work towards starting on Thursday.”

Mourinho is referring to Roma’s Thursday Europa League match against Slavia Prague.

He went on to point out the importance of versatility within his team, and praised youth product Edoardo Bove, who filled in for the missing Cristante in midfield.

“I like that we are not looking at him as a young player; we see him as a mature player. He played a lot with us over the last two seasons.

“He understands the dynamics, learns incredibly quickly and has great physicality too. When we are missing Cristante in midfield, Edoardo can play there and give stability to our team,” Mourinho explained.

With Paulo Dybala sidelined due to injury, Mourinho acknowledged that Roman’s complete reliance on Romelu Lukaku becomes even more evident.

Lukaku has been in a spree since joining the Roman club, scoring seven goals in eight games across Serie A and the Europa League.

Mourinho praised Lukaku, saying, “He has goals in his nature. Aside from that, he is an important reference point for us.

“We are not a very fast team, and we have a few limitations when we lose or regain the ball, so he gives us a reference point.”