Jose Mourinho gets perfect 1000th game present as Roma record dramatic win against Sassuolo

For those who haven’t paid enough attention yet, AS Roma currently sit at the top of Serie A after winning each of their first three league matches.

Jose Mourinho and his young squad are outsiders for the title, but they have consistently defied the odds since the beginning of the season.

The Giallorossi have played five games in all competitions this season and won each of them while keeping clean sheets in their last three matches.

On Sunday, though, Roma faced their toughest challenge yet when Sassuolo ran them close at the Stadio Olimpico. But despite a difficult contest, Mourinho’s side battled their way to a 2-1 win.

Roma rally to record late win over Sassuolo

The Giallorossi obviously weren’t at their best against Sassuolo but it was their character and fighting spirit that ultimately made them triumph.

Despite taking the lead in the 37th minute, thanks to a strike from Bryan Cristante, Roma were largely pegged back by their determined opponents.

Sassuolo enjoyed the larger share of possession, had more shots on target and were generally better. The away side’s pressure eventually paid off when Filip Djuricic restored parity early in the second half.

Roma were largely on the back foot but Mourinho’s substitutions helped turn the game around. The Portuguese manager introduced Stephan El Shaarawy and Eldor Shomurodov and the pair combined beautifully to get the winner at the death.

For the record, Roma were largely poor, but sometimes the character of a team can win games and that was exactly the case for the Giallorossi.

Mourinho wins on 1000th career game

Very few people could have predicted that Mourinho would see out his 1000th game as a manager at a club like Roma. But the 58-year-old has quickly made Rome his home.

For a man who has managed great clubs like Porto, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United, he deserved to win on his 1000th career game. And, fortunately, Roma obliged on Sunday.

"During the week I was a liar, saying it wasn’t a special match. But it was a special match. It was a match with a special number for me and I always wanted to remember a match like this for my 1000th game. I lied to everyone!" Mourinho said, as quoted by Goal.

"It could have ended 6 to 6, 7 to 7, (Roma goalkeeper) Rui Patricio came up with two miracles, we missed a few goals. Extraordinary game, a tremendous emotion.

"Today I am not 58, but 14, when you start dreaming of a career in football. It was a child’s race, I apologized to [Sassuolo head coach Alessio] Dionisi, they played a fantastic game."

Not many managers get to handle 1000 matches. Mourinho has now joined an exclusive list of coaches to have done so, and he celebrated his with the perfect present from his team – a victory.