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Jose Mourinho is rarely in a foul mood when his team is winning. But AS Roma's slump in form has seen the Portuguese take out his frustration on others.
The Giallorossi were battered 6-1 by Bodo/Glimt in the Europa Conference League two weeks ago. They were then held to a 2-2 draw by the Norwegian side in Rome on Thursday evening.
Roma's slump in form, though, hasn't just been in European competition; their domestic form has also been porous. Mourinho's tenure as Roma boss began very brightly, but things haven't gone according to plan in recent weeks.
A poor run of one win in six games has raised serious concerns. But the fact that so many players are currently underperforming makes the situation even more worrying.
AS Roma struggling to win matches
Mourinho's side won their first six matches of the season, scoring a whopping 19 goals and conceding just four. By contrast, they've been struggling to win matches in recent weeks.
The Giallorossi have won just twice since the beginning of October, and have conceded 12 goals in that period. Even worse, the team is not showing any signs of improvement.
Tammy Abraham started his Roma career on a good note, but the goals have since dried up. Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been woefully out of form, while Nicolo Zaniolo has been a pale shadow of his energetic self.
Roma have just not shown up in matches as everyone expects them to, and this is completely unlike a team managed by Mourinho. It is also providing shades of the Portuguese's ill-fated stints with Manchester United and Tottenham.
Jose Mourinho's petulance a sign of frustration
When Jose Mourinho takes his criticism of match officials from the press conference room to social media, you know things aren't going so well for him.
The Portuguese manager was suspended in Serie A during Roma's goalless draw with Napoli. He also lashed out at referees after his side's 2-1 loss to AC Milan last week.
The former Chelsea and Manchester United boss once again exchanged words with a television reporter after Thursday's 2-2 draw with Bodo/Glimt in the Europa Conference League.
“I don’t have an issue with the referee. Nevertheless, perhaps in the Conference League, they are not very good,” he lamented, as quoted by Asroma.com.
“Perhaps they are individuals who are just beginning their careers in European competition. But in the first meeting we lost 6-1, and I didn’t have one word to say about the referee, because that result depended on us and not him. But today, unfortunately, I have to say that once again we were denied two penalties. That’s too much.”
Mourinho hasn't been in charge for too long. But it appears he's facing his first real test as AS Roma boss, and it remains to be seen how he'll bail the team out of this mini-crisis.
