In Roma’s Europa Conference League match against Bodo/Glimt, Henrikh Mkhitaryan expects a mental battle.
The Giallorossi are 2-1 down on aggregate heading into tomorrow’s meeting at the Stadio Olimpico, meaning Jose Mourinho’s side will have to dig deep to beat the tenacious Norwegians. This season, the two have developed a rather intense rivalry, which is a good advertisement for the Conference League.
Mkhitaryan began his news conference by looking ahead to tomorrow’s match.
“”What we’ve done against them in the past doesn’t matter; we’re focused on the next game now.”” Tomorrow is a mental game; we must play and demonstrate that we are capable of winning because we are strong.””
He expressed his desire to win something with Roma, but he remained tight-lipped on the possibility of a contract extension.
“”I’ve always wanted to win something at the teams I’ve moved to because in the end, all that matters is what you’ve won.””
“”I don’t want to talk about the contract since there’s still time to talk about it, and for now my thoughts are on the next games.”” I’d like to win the Conference League, but first and foremost, we need to win tomorrow.””
The 33-year-old Armenian spoke about his ambition for fame in Rome and the project he is working on.
“”Obviously, since I’ve been in Rome, I’ve sensed the fans’ desire for winning anything, and it’s always been apparent to me that I’m here to win something.”” It’s difficult, but it’d be a crazy event for the city and the club if it happened.
“”I’m confident that our work will benefit us; we’re a youthful team with a lot of changes since last year.”” Everyone must think that in the next years, we will undoubtedly win something; this year, everything hinges on tomorrow’s game.””
Finally, Mkhitaryan discussed injuries and how the team is back to full strength.
“”It’s a wonderful thing because we’re all available and ready to play tomorrow.”” We had a lot of injuries last year, and I’m not sure why; this year, we have fewer, but the main thing is that everyone is ready to play tomorrow, including the bench.””
Mkhitaryan, 33, has played a total of 3066 minutes in 39 games in all competitions this season. He’s scored four goals and added nine assists in that time.
Both teams are feeling animosity after the recent incident between Giallorossi goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos and Bodo/Glimt head coach Kjetil Knutsen. Tomorrow’s Conference League match has an unexpected weight behind it.
