Mourinho blasts referee after Roma lose derby to Lazio

Jose Mourinho blamed the referee and VAR for AS Roma’s 3-2 defeat to rivals Lazio in Serie A on Sunday, saying his side were dominant despite the result.

It was the Portuguese manager’s second loss since taking charge of the Italian side in the summer, and Lazio led from the 10th minute until the final whistle.

However, Mourinho was unhappy about a potential foul in the build-up to Lazio’s second goal, scored by former Roma winger Pedro after 19 minutes, and felt Lucas Leiva should have received a second booking after seeing Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini sent off against Udinese on Thursday.

Maurizio Sarri celebrating with the Lazio eagle after beating Jose Mourinho’s Roma 🦅

His face 😅 pic.twitter.com/GuB2Y6SFFe

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 26, 2021

“Italian football has improved a lot. But unfortunately, the referee and VAR were not at the right level for this fantastic match,” Mourinho told DAZN.

“On the 2-0 goal it could have been 1-1, the referee and VAR made a mistake. This is too much. The lack of a second yellow for Leiva is also important. It was a similar situation to Pellegrini, he got a red but today there was nothing.

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“We were the best team on the pitch. Obviously when you concede three goals, something has gone wrong, but the second and third were counter-attacks.

"We showed quality, we showed heart, we showed team spirit. Maybe you don’t agree with me, but we deserved a different result from this game."
#ASRoma #LazioRoma

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) September 26, 2021

"We tried, we dominated. We gave everything and put Lazio in difficulty.”

Roma, who are fourth in Serie A, face Zorya next in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday, before hosting Empoli in the league.