Final result Cremonese vs Roma (2-1)
Scored: Tsadjout (17′); Ciofani (pen 83′) – Spinazzola (71′)
In the 46th minute, Mourinho argued fiercely with the fourth referee Serra outside the touchline and was directly red carded by referee Marco Piccinini. The Portuguese coach was even more angry after being sent off and loudly protested Piccinini, pointing at Serra and emphasizing “It’s him, it’s him”.
After leaving the touchline, Mourinho used the traditional method of communicating with the assistants on the bench. Instead of using his phone, “Special One” jotted down some notes and asked his assistant Salvatore Foti to give them to the coaching staff. Coincidentally, Foti was already sitting in the stands due to a one-month ban for insulting referee Michael Fabbri and threatening the Cremonese director, when the two teams met in the Italian Cup.
This is the third time Mourinho has been sent off this season, and the fifth red card since taking charge of Roma in the summer of 2021, all because of the referee’s reaction. Previously, the 60-year-old coach was sent off in a 0-1 loss to Atalanta in round 7 and a 1-1 draw with Torino in round 15 of Serie A.
The Portuguese coach continued: “For the first time in my career, the fourth referee spoke to me in the most unbelievable way. It was inexplicable. After the game, I went to talk to them. Piccinini , the fourth referee in the game before I was sent off, told me to apologize to Serra I told Serra that he should have had the courage to explain what had happened, but he had mental problems miss”.
Mourinho’s red card comes at a time when Roma are facing a lot of difficulties in front of Cremonese’s large defense. Before that, “Giallorossi” let the opponent take the lead with the only shot on target in the first half. In the 17th minute, after the team’s wall phase, Frank Tsadjout hit the back of the cheek, sending the ball into the net in an unstoppable trajectory.
After conceding the goal, Roma rushed to attack but did not have a remarkable opportunity. In the day when the attack was deadlocked, Roma had to rely on the shining moment of a defender to equalize. In the 71st minute, Leonardo Spinazzola broke the offside trap to catch a long pass from Gianluca Mancini before placing his lap neatly and down the goalkeeper.
With the spirit of excitement, Roma continued to raise the squad to press the opponent. 74 minutes, Stephan El Shaarawy had a chance to face but could not take advantage. The capital team squandered the opportunity and then again received bitter fruit in the 82nd minute. Rui Patricio came out and fouled the home team player. The referee does not need to consult VAR but gives Cremonese a penalty. From a distance of 11 meters, Daniel Ciofani made no mistake to restore the lead.
The little time left was not enough for Roma to turn the tide. Mourinho’s team played stalemate and accepted a 1-2 defeat. This loss is a cold water poured into Roma’s ambition to compete for Champions League tickets. At this time, the capital team has dropped to 5th, 1 point behind Lazio.
Meanwhile, Cremonese creates historic milestones. The home team of Giovanni Zini has the first victory in Serie A 2022/23 after 24 rounds. These are also the first 3 points Cremonese has won in the Italian league since the 1995/96 season.
Team Cremonese vs Roma
- Cremonese: Carnesecchi; Ferrari (Chiriches 84, Bianchetti, Vasquez, Sernicola (Ghiglione 84), Valeri, Pickel (Galdames 78), Benassi, Afena-Gyan (Meite 66), Tsadjout (Ciofani 78), Okereke.
- Roma: Patricio; Kumbulla (Karsdorp 68), Ibanez, Mancini, Spinazzola, Wijnaldum, Cristante (Matic 63), Zalewski (Solbakken 63), Pellegrini (El Shaarawy 63), Dybala, Belotti (Abraham 62).