Mourinho pleased with response after first half issues

The Giallorossi grabbed a draw thanks to Tammy Abraham's second half header, after Dusan Vlahovic had scored for the hosts inside the first 90 seconds.

What did you say to Max Allegri after the game?

“I don’t think I can say the exact words…”

Of course you can…

“They handed us our a**es in the first half – but in the second half we were a little bit better.”

What did you say to the squad after the first half?

“I said I felt embarrassed for them, embarrassed to be their coach.”

The attitude seemed very different in the second half…

“Absolutely, the question is why it was like that in the second half but not in the first? We are not talking about the tactics, but about the attitude. We cannot come here with this sort of attitude.

“I was telling [assistant manager] Foti on the bench that we should pray the first half finishes 1-0. I told the players to take advantage of that good fortune, to still be in the game even after that. Sometimes you can be a bit overrun, but even then you can manage the game a bit and we didn’t even manage that. It was pure luck it was 1-0 at the break.

“We didn’t have many options off the bench – there was no Zaniolo, Wijnaldum or another player that I think might be arriving soon. With those three maybe things could have been different. Max, even with all his problems, could bring on players like Milik and McKennie.

“If we take the first and second halves in isolation, then in the second half we deserved to win 1-0. But I don’t want to say that we deserved the result tonight, because that would be giving my side credit that they don’t really warrant after that first half performance.”

You conceded early and struggled in the build-up, but the defence looked comfortable overall…

“Yes, it was tough for me to take off Mancini, because in my opinion the three centre-backs were all victims of some horrible play from the wide players and central midfielders. We kept making mistakes, even after we conceded. It was a horrible first half.

“I am happy with the second half, they were well set up tactically but we did well. It’s an important point for us and, as I’ve said, it’s no bad thing to avoid defeat after a first half like that. Zaniolo is a big loss for a game like this; he has the strength to find ways in behind. But I think we will be without him for another three weeks.”

This team seems to be on the right path, but needs to make sure it forces the opposition to up their game…

“I agree. That’s why I am trying to be as honest as possible. I could have come here and told you that we changed things in the second half and we were amazing, but I don’t want to do that and I won’t hide that. This game was a bit like the one at the San Siro last season [against Inter Milan] and we need to improve in that regard.

“We are waiting for important players to join us, not just for the bench and to change matches but to provide competition in roles too. That happened today with the full-backs – last season Karsdorp was the only one, but this season there is Celik to come in if he is not okay. The same goes for Spinazzola. In midfield and up front it’s harder in big games and I was worried about the impact of yellow cards. This point is not bad for us.”

Tammy Abraham celebrated a lot at the end of the game…

“I like that the players celebrate, that they understand how difficult it is and the value the result has. Everyone knows that first half was not what we are capable of. Maybe he celebrated because it’s important for us and it meant I’d be nicer to them in the changing room afterwards!”