Mourinho Takes Responsibility For Roma Humiliation, Spurs Lose To Vitesse

22nd October 2021

However, Mourinho would have had one eye on this weekend’s Serie A clash with Napoli who top the table in Italy with eight wins in eight games

Maximilian Wittek of Vitesse celebrates his sides first goal with Riechedly Bazoer of Vitesse and Eli Dasa of Vitesse during the Group D - UEFA Europa Conference League match between Vitesse and Tottenham Hotspur at the Gelredome on October 21, 2021 in Arnhem, Netherlands. PHOTO | Alamy
Maximilian Wittek of Vitesse celebrates his sides first goal with Riechedly Bazoer of Vitesse and Eli Dasa of Vitesse during the Group D - UEFA Europa Conference League match between Vitesse and Tottenham Hotspur at the Gelredome on October 21, 2021 in Arnhem, Netherlands. PHOTO | Alamy
SUMMARY
  • Jose Mourinho’s Roma were humiliated 6-1 in the Europa League on Thursday at Bodo/Glimt, in an "embarrassment" as stated by captain Lorenzo Pellegrini.
  • The Roma captain described the defeat as an “embarrassment” and a “slap in the face”, by a team who won the Norwegian title for the first time in 104 years
  • Mourinho’s former employers Tottenham also lost, going down 1-0 at Vitesse Arnhem in Group G.

Jose Mourinho’s Roma were humiliated 6-1 in the Europa League on Thursday at Bodo/Glimt, in an "embarrassment" as stated by captain Lorenzo Pellegrini.

The Roma captain described the defeat as an “embarrassment” and a “slap in the face”, by a team who won the Norwegian title for the first time in 104 years.

Bodo/Glimt, playing their 11th European game of the season, stunned the Italian giants who struggled in temperatures of two degrees on an artificial pitch just inside the Arctic Circle.

Erik Botheim scored a hat-trick for the Norwegians with captain Patrick Berg, Ola Solbakken and Amahl Pellegrino piling on the misery for Mourinho.

"It’s my responsibility, I chose to use these players," Mourinho was quoted as saying by Italian media.

Their fans have become great curiosities in the sport for their habit of waving giant, yellow toothbrushes in the stands.

However, Mourinho would have had one eye on this weekend’s Serie A clash with Napoli who top the table in Italy with eight wins in eight games.

"If I had played the first team, someone might get injured, then we’d concede four or five goals against Napoli on Sunday and that decision would’ve been considered wrong too.

"The team that Bodo put out today had more quality than our second string," Mourinho added.

Mourinho’s former employers Tottenham also lost, going down 1-0 at Vitesse Arnhem in Group G.

Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo changed his starting line-up completely with the likes of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Cristiano Romero and Hugo Lloris not travelling to the Netherlands.