The Portuguese was on the wrong end of a 6-1 defeat in the UEFA Conference League, as his AS Roma side was thrashed by Norwegian outfit FK Bodo/Glimt. The scoreline marked Mourinho’s heaviest defeat of his illustrious career.
The Norwegian outfit registered one of the biggest shocks of the European season by thrashing Mourinho’s side while also handing him the biggest defeat of his managerial career. For the first time in over 1000th matches, a team managed by the former Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United manager conceded six goals in a single game.
Eric Botheim was the star of the show as he scored twice and assisted three others. Winger Ola Solbakken added a brace himself, with both his goals coming late on. Meanwhile, Patrick Berg and Amahl Pellegrino netted either side of the break to add to the thrashing.
Carles Perez scored the only goal – a mere consolation – for AS Roma in the first half. The Giallorossi slipped to second in the group as a consequence of the heavy defeat.
Mourinho was furious with the performance of his players and made no attempts to hide it during the post-match interviews. In his post-match interview, he accepted the responsibility of the defeat, albeit only till the point of him selecting the starting line-up.
“I’m the one who decided to play with the team we use tonight, so it’s my responsibility.
“I did it with good intentions and to give opportunities to those who work hard and also give a rest to some guys. Tonight we lost against a team with more quality, it’s as simple as that.
“If I could use the same players every match I would. It’s risky because there’s a huge gulf between our first choice and second choice players. I expected better, but it’s my responsibility.”
he said.
On October 24, Mourinho’s side take on Luciano Spalletti’s high-flying Napoli in Serie A. The latter has won all eight of their games so far, and is leading the league by two points. The Giallorossi, meanwhile, are fourth – nine behind Napoli.
