Nigeria Ademola Lookman’s jab rescued Leicester to a draw against Romain the Europa Conference League on Thursday at the King Power Stadium in East Midlands.
Roma had taken the lead through its captain, Lorenzo Pellegrini, in first-half but Super Eagle forward Ademola Lookman’s 67th-minute goal which was later awarded to Gianluca Mancini as an own goal ensured The Foxes shared the spoil.
Leicester, going into the second leg of the Europa Conference League on May 5 in Italy, have been handed a lifeline by Lookman to square it out with Giallorossi in Stadio Olimpico.
Meanwhile, Roma boss Jose Mourinho has praised the improvement of his team in recent times after the result in King Power Stadium.
Mourinho, comparing the team’s performances under his stead to five months ago, stressed that they would have lost against Leicester.
Consequently, Roma’s boss declared that they still have one hurdle to cross which demands the players’ mental discipline and commitment to the game.
Furthermore, Mourinho added that Giallorossi must keep their heads-up high and must not create room for being emotional.
In a post-match interaction with Sky Sports, Mourinho said, “Does tonight show our growth? I’m not very humble or at least I don’t have a reputation of being, but I have to agree with you.
“For me, we definitely would’ve lost this game 5-6 months ago. We had the courage to come out and play the way we did initially: we pressed high and got guys forward.
“We could’ve taken home a win, we shouldn’t have conceded that goal. But it’s still an acceptable result. There’s still a final to be played: I’m not referring to the one in Tirana, but rather the one next week in Rome.
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“Next week we’ll have to keep our heads and have a strong mentality, we can’t play emotionally. The emotion will be needed from the supporters,” he added.
Mourinho has told the team to treat the return leg like a final at the Stadio Olimpico with over 70,000 Roma supporters backing the team to victory.
He continued: “The return leg should be treated as a final to be played in Rome.
“We have to look at it that way. We cannot think about Tirana.”
“I think every Roma supporter would have been happy at the thought of a draw in the first leg. At the Olimpico, it will be difficult, but we will have 70,000 fans backing us.”
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