AS Roma 2:0 Sunderland: Mourinho’s Boys Begin Pre-season on a Winning Note

AS Roma 2:0 Sunderland: Mourinho’s Boys Begin Pre-season on a Winning Note

Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:06 PM
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  • AS Roma defeated Sunderland in a preseason friendly staged at the Estadio Municipal de Albufeira in Portugal
  • The Rome-based outfit clinched the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference title last season when Mourinho's charges pipped Feyenoord in the finals
  • Despite making four additions to the current squad, Jose is still in the market seeking reinforcements as he sets his sights on guiding Roma to more laurels

AS Roma began their pre-season preparations for the forthcoming season on a winning note with a 2-0 victory over English lower-tier side Sunderland on Wednesday afternoon.

Second-half goals from Ghanaian teen sensation Felix Afena-Gyan and Nicolo Zaniolo were enough to hand Mourinho's charges a well-deserved win on their first outing on the preseason tour.

Mourinho's Giallorossi stepped out for the first time ahead of the new season when they engaged Sunderland, a former Premier League club, in a preseason friendly at the Estadio Municipal de Albufeira in Portugal.

AS Roma, Nicolo Zaniolo, Felix Afena-Gyan, Jose Mourinho, preseason, friendly, Portugal, tour
Goals from Afena-Gyan and Nicolo Zaniolo were enough to hand AS Roma their first win on preseason tour. Photo credit: @OfficialASRoma
Source: Twitter

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The experienced Portuguese gaffer handed most of the fringe players from last season a starting berth in his lineup with summer signing Nemanja Matic making his first appearance as a player for the Rome-based club.

With little to no goalmouth action and a lack of proper attacking impetus, Mourinho ringed in the changes after recess.

And one of his second-half substitutes, Afena-Gyan broke the deadlock for Roma after 75 minutes when he rifled in an unstoppable drive from close range after a goalmouth melee.

Five minutes later, Zaniolo, who scored the winner for Roma in the finals of the UEFA Europa Conference League, put the final nail in the coffin as the Italians secured their first win on pre-season tour.

Jose Mourinho slams Roma chief over transfer inactivity

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Jose Mourinho has revealed his dissatisfaction with the Roma hierarchy as the Serie A club is struggling to make some additions to his team ahead of the 2022/23 football.

Roma lost some key first-team players this summer with the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Alessandro Florenzi, Robin Olsen and Cengiz Under all leaving the Serie A club.

Mourinho has now disclosed he is frustrated with Roma’s lack of activity in the transfer market as he has only made three new additions to his squad despite his numerous targets Daily Mirror reports.

Authors
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe photo
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe is a Ligue 1, Bundesliga, and La Liga editor with five-year experience. He previously worked with Sports Corna and 360SportsGH.
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