Jose Mourinho Calls Out Renato Sanches After Latest Injury Setback: “I Don’t Understand”

• AS Roma won their opening group game of the Europa League away at Sherif Tiraspol
• Leandro Paredes and Romelu Lukaku got the goals on either side of the home team's goal
• Renato Sanches went off injured in the first half, leaving Jose Mourinho unimpressed

Jose Mourinho appears to be unimpressed with one of his players, not for a poor performance, but for his fitness after he went off injured in the match against Sherif Tiraspol.

Last season's finalist, AS Roma, began their 2023/24 UEFA Europa League campaign with a 2-1 away win at Moldovan side Sherif, thanks to goals from Leandro Paredes and Romelu Lukaku.

The Argentine, whose freekick led to the first goal, started the game off the bench but was thrown into the fray after Renato Sanches limped off injured in the 28th minute.

Loanee Lukaku won the game for Roma after a beautiful passage of play with Paulo Dybala and Bryan Cristante to maintain his goal-scoring streak in the competition, having scored in his previous 11 games.

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Mourinho calls out Renato Sanches

Mourinho watched the game from the press box as he began his four-game European ban for clashing with English official Anthony Taylor after last season's final.

He was visibly frustrated and vented his frustration during his post-match interview with Sky Sports, as quoted by Roma Press.

“Unfortunately, this is Sanches, he’s always at risk (of injury), and it’s tough to understand. Bayern Munich couldn’t figure it out, neither did PSG, and now we’re struggling to understand it too,” he said.

“He’s a great player, he needs to play—he had three days of rest and felt more than ready to play another 45 minutes today. However, he felt a tweak.”

The Portuguese star joined Roma on an initial loan with an obligation to buy if certain conditions were met. Sporting director Tiago Pinto confirmed to Dimarzio that he's obsessed with the player and should be held responsible for however he turns out.

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Mourinho's comment on Europa League final

Sports Brief reported on Mourinho's audacious claim about last season's final as his team regrouped for another attempt to win the competition.

Roma lost the final under controversial conditions to Sevilla in Budapest last season, and the Special One insists his team did not lose the game and that he would continue to hold on to that claim.