Jose Mourinho says he must ‘help players to grow’ after Roma beat Bayer Leverkusen in Europa League semi first leg

Mourinho is bidding to lead Roma to a European title in successive seasons, and his side took the advantage ahead of the return leg in Germany by beating Leverkusen thanks to a goal from 20-year-old Edoardo Bove.

After Bove scored his first goal in European competition, Mourinho was full of praise for the player who has come through the Serie A club’s academy.

Mourinho told Sky Sports Italy: “Edo’s parents deserve the credit, not me. He is extremely polite, academically smart, a professional who acts like he is 30 years old.

“Last season he would come on five minutes from the end, this year 30, even starting a few games, has improved his emotional control in the match.

“This is my job, to help players to grow, but I also know that in order to be such a good person, he really must have a wonderful family behind him.”

The game will also be remembered for Bryan Cristante’s goal-line clearance after an error from Rui Patricio presented Jeremie Frimpong with a glorious opportunity to score an 87th-minute equaliser.

Mourinho credited the mentality of his players in front of a boisterous home crowd.

“It is all credit to the lads,” he said. “They have this mentality, this desire, this empathy with the fans, this sense of responsibility to give everything and make the supporters happy.

“We had great moments, but today going from Trigoria to the stadium, seeing the fans and what they were doing for us. Even someone like me who has a lot of experience under his belt, that hits you.

“It was not an easy game today, intellectually it was a very difficult match. It is tough to play against Bayer Leverkusen, to remain concentrated for 90 minutes, to play to win and at the same time know losing the ball can be devastating on the counter.

“The lads did so well to win this first half of the tie.”

Key players Paulo Dybala and Gini Wijnaldum were not fit enough to start the first leg, but came on as substitutes in the 76th minute.

Mourinho hopes they will be able to play a bigger part in the second leg at BayArena next Thursday.

“It’s tough for me,” he said. “Tough for everyone, the fear of getting hurt and also the necessity to use them as an option. It was really, really difficult.

“Fortunately, they played a few minutes, I think without damaging consequences, we’ll see if they can play more minutes next Thursday.”