Roma were twice humiliated by the Norwegian minnows in the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage. A crushing 6-1 defeat in Norway and an unexpected 2-2 draw in Roma made the Norwegian club somewhat of a bogey team for the Giallorossi. Their third encounter of the season is the most important to date – as Jose Mourinho tries to navigate his way into another European semi-final.Mourinho’s Roma frozen in the polar circle with SIX goals in the net!The wily Portuguese was ridiculed because he failed to beat a virtually unknown team in two attempts. That defeat by a five-goal margin still stings, even though the Romans have improved their form since. Mourinho was adamant that everyone would see a different Roma.”It will be a different match compared to October, as many players are no longer here, like Bryan Reynolds, Gonzalo Villar, Borja Mayoral and Riccardo Calafiori. We are a different team, and we want to play the semi-final. It was a drama in October because losing 6-1 is more than just a defeat.”Mourinho was on his way to meeting fans in Norway when someone from the crowd threw snow at him making turn away. Ruined it for everyone pic.twitter.com/1y1HzqRHrq— J (@MourinhoPics) April 6, 2022 Searching for a place in the last four of a European competition is an incentive enough. Still, the opportunity to break the spell and get one back over Kjetil Knutsen’s team is going to play a significant role for Mourinho when the teams run out onto the artificial turf at the Aspmyra Stadion.”I am happy to be back here and hope it goes better than last time. I always said I don’t like artificial turf, as football is either played on grass or it is a different sport. Having said that, we have no excuses this time, there are two games and we want to reach the semi-final. We have respect for Bodo, because they proved that they are a great team at the Stadio Olimpico too.”Mourinho: “No excuses. The weather is the weather and the pitch is the pitch. We have two games to try and reach a semi-final.”We have to respect Bodo – because they are a very good team. They played very well in Rome. They are a very good, we respect.”#ASRoma #UECL #BodoRoma pic.twitter.com/m1p74bTQHb— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) April 6, 2022 There is some good news for Roma from the Bodo camp. Striker Erik Botheim, who scored three goals to torment Jose, has left the club and is currently on the books of Russian club Krasnodar. Full-back Frederik-Andre Bjorkan has signed for Hertha BSC, and captain Patrick Berg has gone to sign for RC Lens.Would it be third time lucky for Tammy Abraham and his teammates? It’s about time!UEFA EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUEQuarter-final, first legThursday19.45: (1.68) Feyenoord (3.80) Slavia Praha (5.20)22.00: (4.00) Bodo (3.60) Roma (2.00)22.00: (1.48) Olympique Marseille (4.30) PAOK (8.50)22.00: (2.25) Leicester (3.50) PSV (3.35)***odds are subject to change
