Jose Mourinho’s honeymoon at AS Roma was long gone, with the club in trouble in the capital after a 3-2 loss to Venezia on Sunday, and family grievances raised by the Portuguese coach. Mourinho enjoyed a strong start in life in Rome, winning six games in a row in all competitions, but performances have declined since then, and the 58-year-old has criticized his players, Roma transfers, and referees.
He said after the defeat in Venice that “this is not a year to dream big”, complaining that his team is unbalanced and “when you lose a player to injury or suspension, you have to invent something.” The team’s lack of depth is already a familiar complaint, but there were some excuses for the result, and AS Roma seemed to be in trouble.
Venezia, promoted from Serie B last season, is fighting for relegation and started the day with the worst attack in the league. Roma were the first team to lose to Paolo Zanetti’s team three times this season and did so after maintaining a 2–1 lead at the break. The match result dropped Jose Mourinho’s side to sixth place, with wins in the last seven games in all competitions and four points from the last five games in the league.
The Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport described Rome as “free fall”. Their report showed that the average number of points and goals scored by Roma decreased from 3 and 3.1 in the first six matches to 0.8 and 1.3 in the last six, respectively, while the average number of goals scored per match increased from 0.4 to 2.3 that period.
