José Mourinho was again unhappy with the referee in Wednesday’s game versus Bologna. Roma will not have Tammy Abraham and Rick Karsdorp against Inter. They both picked up their fifth yellow card of the season. The English striker did it on a very questionable call. The gaffer also had some peculiar remarks about Nicolò Zaniolo.
Mourinho commented: “We will have to invent a new lineup for Saturday. Luckily, I took Gianluca Mancini out early; otherwise, he would have been booked too. I commend Bologna and Sinisa Mihajlovic because they had a nice game. But I am proud of my players that gave their whole against everything and everybody. We had some injuries before and during the match. Plus, there were some hidden ones, but they kept going.”
The gaffer said about Zaniolo: “It goes against my best interest, but I advise him not to stay in Serie A for long. It is becoming impossible for him.”
According to La Repubblica, Mourinho thinks that the starlet is not officiated correctly. The referees allow too many fouls against him. Moreover, the defenders always reserve a special physical treatment to him.
Zaniolo has had some good performances in European Conference League this season. However, he has not hit the net in over 500 days in Serie A due to his extended absences. Mourinho is aware that the success of the squad goes through the attacker and used his charisma to shield him, the newspaper suggests. Raising the question might end up helping him in the next few matches.