Not been a great week for José
If you thought losing 6-1 to a team with a forward slash in their name was bad, José Mourinho’s week somehow got worse on Sunday night, as he was sent off for his conduct on the touchline during Roma’s draw to Napoli.
Appealing for a foul as Lorenzo Insigne appeared to pull down Nicolo Zaniolo right in front of the dugouts, Mourinho lost his rag as the referee waved play on.
Mourinho turned around in disgust and kicked a bottle as his rage boiled over.
While play continued, the referee raised his arm to acknowledge Mourinho’s behaviour, and once the ball had gone out of play, ran over to the touchline to penalise him.
Having already cautioned the Portuguese in the 19th minute of the game, the referee had no option but to show a second yellow to Mourinho and send him down the tunnel with 10 minutes remaining in the game.
Something to cheer United fans up after yesterday: Jose Mourinho being sent off 👋 pic.twitter.com/Zk1Tdf5ADd
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) October 25, 2021
The game finished 0-0, and Roma currently sit fourth in the Serie A table, ahead of Juventus and Atalanta, which doesn’t seem so bad on the face of things.
But third season syndrome already seems to be setting in at the Stadio Olympico, just months into Mourinho’s reign.
Following their humiliating defeat to Bodø/Glimt on Thursday, Mourinho stooped to media tactics he usually reserves for the third season of any managerial spell: blaming his players, claiming they aren’t good enough, despite his starting XI that day including Rui Patricio, Amadou Diawara, Carles Perez and Borja Mayoral.
His explosive reaction against Napoli taking place just days later would suggest things are taking a turn in Rome.
Stay tuned for more Mourinho outbursts and blame shifting as the season continues.
