Jose Mourinho Risks Wrath of Fans After Familiar Excuse During Roma's Defeat to Real Betis

Jose Mourinho Risks Wrath of Fans After Familiar Excuse During Roma's Defeat to Real Betis

Rene Otinga
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:13 PM
  • Jose Mourinho refused to take responsibility for Roma’s defeat to Real Betis in the Europa League on Thursday
  • The 59-year-old aimed a thinly-veiled swipe at his own players, saying the performance on the night was ‘not good’
  • Despite taking the lead, Roma saw the game turned on its head thanks to a late goal by Betis’ Luis Enrique

Jose Mourinho was a visibly frustrated figure after his team conceded a late goal, to lose the clash against Real Betis in the Europa League on Thursday, October 6.

The Giallorossi initially took the lead through summer signing Paolo Dybala, who slotted in from the penalty spot in the first half.

Betis however, who were not shaken after going a goal down, found the equalizer through Guido Rodriguez.

Jose Mourinho, AS Roma
Jose Mourinho speaks to the media after the final whistle of the UEFA Europa League group C match between AS Roma and Real Betis at Stadio Olimpico on October 06, 2022. Photo by Tullio Puglia.
Source: Getty Images

As the game was meandering towards a draw, Manuel Pellegrini's side found an unlikely winner through Luis Enrique, who practically scored a free header after Roma wing-back Leonardo Spinazzola appeared to misjudge the ball’s flight.

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Speaking after the game, Mourinho tried to make sense of the defeat by constantly going to the point that his team were ‘tired’ late on in the game.

“We are talking about a tired team, one that is trying to win. Matic was able to press and Spinazzola could not, so they found the space at the back. I think it was an error that came from fatigue," he said as quoted on Express Sport.
“It hurts, because although it was not a great performance, the team did not deserve to lose.”

On a personal level, the defeat will be a painful one for Mourinho, as he blew the chance to surpass Sir Alex Ferguson to become the manager with most wins in a European competition.

The two managers are currently tied at 106 wins.

Mourinho’s hilarious antics during Roma’s win over Inter

Days earlier, Sports Brief reported of how Jose Mourinho left fans in hysterics after documenting his bittersweet day on Saturday, October 1.

He had to watch his side play against his former team Inter from the team bus, as he was serving a ban following his sending-off in the defeat to Atalanta in September.

In typical Jose Mourinho style, the gaffer kept his followers on Instagram updated with a series of posts on how his day was going.

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Rene Otinga photo
Rene Otinga
Rene Otinga is a sports journalist with over eight years of working experience in digital media. Rene's experience includes working as a Copywriter at X News Kenya and TUKO.co.ke.
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