Atalanta vs AS Roma: Mourinho 'ready' to come out of retirement to play

Mourinho told the media he could play in the decisive top four clash next weekend against defending champions AC Milan after losing another player to an injury.

The Portuguese manager spoke after his AS Roma side suffered a painful 3-1 defeat to Atalanta on Monday night in the Serie A.

Atalanta blew the top four race wide open following the victory against Roma without Nigerian forward Ademola Lookman, who missed the encounter due to an injury.

In his absence, Mario Pasalic, Rafael Tolof and Teun Koopmeiners scored the goals for Atalanta while Lorenzo Pellegrini got the consolation for the visitors on the night.

The defeat to Atalanta came at a bigger cost for Mourinho following injuries to two of the stars Diego Llorente and Paulo Dybala on the night.

On the occasion of his 100th game in charge of the Giallorossi, the 60-year-old watched his side lose Dybala and Llorente to injuries at the Gewiss Stadium.

Llorente was in tears while Dybala was unable to put his foot down following a dangerous tackle.

With Milan next for the club in a decisive tie that could decide who plays in the Champions League next season, the former Inter Milan boss joked he could play or recall Roma legend Francesco Totti or Aldair for the tie against the Rossoneri.

“If on Saturday I have to play, that’s not a problem,” Mourinho said according to Football Italia.

“This is a united team, in difficult moments we are always together and I think the fans are also proud of this team.”

“We ended the match with nine men and still hit the upright, which would’ve been 3-2. It is very difficult for me to be critical of this squad. It plays within its limits."

On the performance and result against Atalanta, the Roma boss was satisfied with his players despite noticeable individual mistakes that proved costly.

"I don’t want to say today’s result is unjust, because mistakes are part of the game and you pay for those who played and don’t usually play, those who came off the bench to help out, I am super satisfied with the lads.”

Mourinho’s Roma are now level on points with fourth-place Milan, with both clubs set to go head-to-head in a crucial match next weekend at the Stadio Olimpico.