Mourinho: "These lads have mentality, desire and empathy"

You were faced with a selection crisis today, with lots of injured players and others only half-fit. How do you manage to always get the most out of your team on nights like this?

“It's down to the lads. They have this mentality, this desire and this empathy – something I often say. They have a sense of responsibility that makes them want to give absolutely everything to make the fans happy. We've had some great moments but our journey from Trigoria to the stadium today... with all those people on the streets showing us the emotions they were showing. That's something that gets inside of you – even for someone like myself with a lot of mileage on the clock. The lads know how to respond to it.

“Of course it wasn't an easy game. It was difficult intellectually because Leverkusen are a very tough side to play against and it's hard to stay fully focused for 90 minutes. It's hard when you're playing to win. You know that if you lose the ball they can kill you and emotionally that's very hard for the lads. But they managed to win the first half of this tie.”

You call them 'lads' and there's one lad of 21, a Roman lad, who won the match tonight. How much have you contributed to Edoardo Bove's development?

“I think it's more down to Edo's parents and his family. He's an incredibly polite lad. Intellectually  – academically speaking -  he's very smart. And in terms of his professionalism, he looks like a 30-year-old veteran. He's remained humble and improved little by little. Last season he'd come on for five minutes at the end, this season for 20, 30 minutes and to start the odd game. He's improved his emotional control during games too. What I've done is my job – which is to help players improve. But I can tell you, even without knowing them, that if a lad turns out like that, he's bound to have an amazing family behind him.”

I'd also like to ask you about Paulo Dybala and Gini Wijnaldum, because you're having to deal with some difficult fitness situations...

“It's tough, for me and for everyone. You fear they might get injured but at the same time you need them as options. It's really tough. But fortunately they were able to play part of the game. I haven't spoken to them yet but as long as there's nothing serious we'll see if they're able to give us a few minutes next Thursday.”