Jose Mourinho challenged Tammy Abraham to “do even more” after the former Chelsea striker scored twice against Lazio in the Rome derby on Sunday.
Abraham has scored 23 goals in all competitions this season since joining Roma for £34m last summer and has rapidly established himself as a fan-favourite at the club.
The 24-year-old, who has been included in Gareth Southgate’s England squad, has thrived in Serie A despite Roma’s patchy form, with the club currently eight points adrift of fourth-placed Juventus.
But speaking after the 3-0 victory, Mourino insisted he thought Abraham could contribute even more during the run-in.
“Great performance,” Mourinho told DAZN. “Today was really special because it seemed that everything we had planned was put on the field. Lazio in the second half tried to play with pride but we never lost control. No doubt, the boys deserved the victory.
“When you say Abraham is fantastic, I disagree, he can do even more. I demand a lot of him because I know his potential, I’m not talking about goals but he must play every game with this attitude.”
Mourinho also played down his side’s chances of an unlikely top-four finish, admitting Roma are now in a battle for the Europa League.
“I see the top four who are battling for the places and will stay there, I don’t see any of them losing that,” he said.
“Then there are four teams fighting for between fifth place and eighth – us, Atalanta, Lazio and Fiorentina – and four teams who are improving their potential, which are obviously different to the potential of the top four.
“There is a difference between fifth and eighth, so we want to end the season well.”
