Jose Mourinho refused to hide his frustration after his Roma side played out a 2-2 draw with a ten-man Sassuolo at the Mapei Stadium. The Giallorossi were lucky to get away with a point after lagging behind in the stoppage time.
Roma took a late first-half lead as Tammy Abraham slotted home a spot-kick in the 46th minute. A hectic first half saw disallowed goals on both sides, but Mourinho’s team headed into the break happier. However, things turned around quickly after half-time.
Chris Smalling scored an unfortunate own goal only two minutes into the second half before Hamed Junior Traore turned the game on its head in the 73rd minute. Gian Marco Ferrari’s 78th-minute expulsion threw Roma a lifeline, with Bryan Cristante scoring a last-gasp equaliser to save the visitors at the death.
Roma have now drawn two consecutive Serie A fixtures following a dismal scoreless stalemate against relegation-threatened Genoa last time out. The Giallorossi sit six points adrift of fourth-placed Juventus, who rescued a 1-1 draw at Atalanta later this evening, courtesy of Danilo’s 93rd-minute header.
In the post-match interview, Mourinho admitted he was relieved to see his team avoid defeat at the Mapei Stadium.
“When you’re losing at 90 minutes and then you draw, the emotional dynamic changes. If people say to me before the game ‘you’ll draw’, I’d say no. The same at the end of the first half and at half-time, but at the 90th minute I say it’s ok. I can compare this match with the losses to Bologna, Verona and Venezia,” he said as relayed by Pagine Romaniste.
But Mourinho insisted that was not the result Roma wanted.
“These are games that have many similarities in the last ten minutes. We had chances to draw, 1 point in each is 4 points more. The draw wasn’t the result we wanted, but at least it gives us the chance to feel that we haven’t lost. Am I thinking of more points? Certainly. We could have won against Genoa. We could have had more points.”