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    Mourinho Reflects on Real Sociedad Victory: ‘We Must Avoid Undoing Our Progress’

    Roma may have beaten Real Sociedad 2-0 in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Europa League, but head coach José Mourinho declined to call that a good result.

    Goals from Stefan Al Shaarawy and substitute Marash Kumbulla secured a home win that gives the Giallorossi a significant lead ahead of the second leg in San Sebastian.

    Despite this, Mourinho was not satisfied, urging caution as a place in the quarter-finals was at stake.

    “This 2-0 score is only good if we don’t lose 3 in the second leg,” Mourinho told Sky Sport Italia. “I will never say that this is a good result after the first match.”

    Mourinho admitted that Roma had a difficult schedule ahead of the second leg on Thursday 16 March, with the Derby della Capitale against Lazio three days later.

    “Now we have a dangerous week,” said the Portuguese. “After returning from Real Sociedad we play against Lazio, although for me playing with them is like playing with Milan or Juventus, but in this city it’s not like that.”

    In fact, Roma only had 40 percent of possession against Sociedad, but they landed three shots on goal compared to the Spanish team’s one.

    Although Mourinho did not call it a good result, he said that his team controlled the game and deserved to win.

    “I liked the organisation, the effort and the sympathy on the pitch,” Mourinho said.

    “We all helped each other. It’s hard to play against teams that put up a midfield diamond. We faced it against Empoli and RB Salzburg, but it’s difficult.

    “We needed a strong mentality because when you don’t have the ball for a long time, the mentality is critical. We controlled the match despite having less possession of the ball.”

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