Bodo/Glimt are officially Mourinho’s Achilles heel after ending Roma’s unbeaten run

Jose Mourinho's side once again lost to Bodo/Glimt.
Jose Mourinho's side once again lost to Bodo/Glimt.

Jose Mourinho and AS Roma were beginning to forget what losing means after enjoying an impressive run in the last two months. However, the Giallorossi were brought down to earth on Thursday evening after suffering a disappointing 2-1 defeat at the hands of Bodo/Glimt.

The Norwegian side has been a revelation in the maiden edition of the Europa Conference League. They added another impressive victory to their fairytale campaign.

Despite taking a first-half lead through Lorenzo Pellegrini in the quarter-final encounter, Roma completely capitulated in the second half. Goals from Ulrik Saltnes and Hugo Veltlesen turned the game around.

Bodo/Glimt end Roma’s unbeaten run

Roma have been one of the most in-form teams in Italy in recent months. They have gotten back into contention for Champions League qualification after moving up to fifth in Serie A.

However, Mourinho and his side couldn’t repeat their heroics against Bodo/Glimt, who were simply better on Thursday night. The Giallorossi were unbeaten in nine matches before facing the Norwegian side, but that run has now been ended by Bodo/Glimt.

It is worth noting that Bodo/Glimt haven’t tasted defeat since August 2021 when they lost to the Kosovan side in the first leg of the Europa Conference League playoffs.

Mourinho’s bogey team

Thursday’s match was the third time that Bodo/Glimt have faced Roma this season and have managed to finish the game without losing. The Norwegian side thrashed Mourinho’s side 6-1 in the group stages of the competition before holding them to a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture.

Having beaten Roma again, they have now become just the second team to come up against Mourinho three or more times without tasting defeat (Real Madrid is the other exception). The Roma boss fumed after the game, as quoted by Goal:

“The two goals were from a set play and a deflection. We score a lot of goals from set-plays too but it’s a good one to score, a bad one to concede. The first goal was ridiculous. To be honest, the thing that worries me the most is the injury for Mancini. It’s a concern, it’s something caused by playing on a plastic turf.”

It’s fair to say that Bodo/Glimt are now Mourinho’s Achilles heel after frustrating the Portuguese manager’s side thrice this season. The second leg, though, may turn out to be different.

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Edited by Ritwik Kumar