Roma coach Jose Mourinho was happy after their 3-0 win against Udinese.

Edoardo Bove struck first, scoring after Bryan Cristante's penalty hit the post. Then Lorenzo Pellegrini scored before Tammy Abraham headed home a third.

On Bove and Pellegrini, Mourinho said: "I like to have Italian players at the core, that is the consequence of our economic reality, but it is above all a way for the club to have a strong bond with the youth academy. Modern football is universal, there are many foreign players in all the leagues in the world, but I continue to believe those who come from here have this specific ability to help the team feel like a family, create that empathy with the fans.

“I think this is one of the reasons why the fans are always with us, whether we play well or badly. Bove scored a goal and was excellent, but I am also cross with him because he made a mistake that if Rui had not saved the penalty could've become very difficult.

“That is part of the learning process, but I am glad that a Roman and Romanista scored."

He also said: “I always say when a coach in a 'normal' club cannot buy any player he wants, he must make the most of the strengths and hide the weaknesses as well as possible.

“Defensive solidity is our strength, we do not have any players in attack with a real change of pace, so it means we need to press high and recover the ball high, otherwise we cannot make that rapid transition. When the energy levels dropped, the intensity dropped, we sat further back and suffered.

“The result is important and now we must forget Serie A for a few days and see if it's possible on Thursday to score against Feyenoord and I believe it is possible."