Juventus shocked AS Roma as they came from two goals behind in just seven minutes to win the match 4-3. A furious Jose Mourinho didn’t hold back from making strong comments about his team after the match.
Roma went ahead after 11 minutes when Tammy Abraham beat everyone to the ball following a corner and scored from close range. In the 18th minute, Dybala equalized in superb fashion, with a marvelous shot from outside the box. Juventus then disappeared from their opponents’ half, with Roma pushing for another goal. After the halftime break, Mkhitaryan took advantage of a deflection and put Roma up before Pellegrini, with another superb strike, took the hosts even further in front.
Juventus could hardly create any danger in Rui Patricio’s box until Alvaro Morata replaced Moise Kean. The Spaniard unblocked Juve’s highly predictable attacking game and served Locatelli for the Bianconeri’s second score. Juventus didn’t waste any time. Kulusevski made it 3-3 seconds before De Sciglio silenced Stadio Olimpico with his goal to make it 4-3 for the visitors. The seven-minute miracle from Juventus wasn’t the whole story of the match. Pellegrini missed a penalty in the 83rd minute, wasting Roma’s chance to save at least a point.
AS Roma is now seventh in the Serie A table, with 32 points in 21 games — six less than Juventus, who are now fifth.
Mourinho criticizes bad play, attitude
At the press conference following the game, Mourinho criticized his players’ attitude in the last 20 minutes and said they “lost their personality.”
“It was so good for 70 minutes, then there was this psychological collapse. The 3-2 killed us,” Mourinho started. “When we allowed them back in for 3-2, a team with a strong mentality like Juventus, a strong character, takes advantage.”
“At the end of the day, when you’re in the s***, you get back on your feet and find your character,” the Portuguese coach added.
Mourinho was asked by his bosses to bring Champions League football back at AS Roma after the club only qualified for the Conference League last season under Paulo Fonseca. It’s unlikely that Roma closes the nine-point gap between them and fourth-placed Atalanta in the remaining 17 games of the campaign. The bookies have the Giallorossi at +2000 to finish inside the top four at the conclusion of the season.
Mourinho was appointed AS Roma manager last summer when he was a free agent following his departure from Tottenham Hotspur in April.
