Jose Mourinho had to be held back by his coaching staff as he fumed at a potential penalty decision not going the way of his Roma side.
The Giallorossi hosted Atalanta in a crucial Serie A fixture on Sunday, with the match coming down to a select number of decisive moments. One such passage caused a lot of controversy, and ultimately needed VAR to reach a final verdict.
Around the 55-minute mark, a Roma throw-in sent Nicolo Zaniolo racing towards the Atalanta box. Substitute defender Caleb Okoli gave pursuit, with the pair running shoulder-to-shoulder.
As they reached the penalty area, Zaniolo felt contact and ended up on the floor. This then caused frantic appeals for a penalty from Roma players and fans, forcing a VAR check.
Despite the fact that Okoli appeared to have hold of the Roma player, the referee – Daniele Chiffi – did not award the home side a penalty. Unsurprisingly, this outcome absolutely incensed Roma manager Jose Mourinho.
Coaching staff has to hold back Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho was furious as a result of the decision not to award Roma a spot kick. He came onto the pitch to confront the referee, clearly upset that the official disagreed with his view.
TV cameras also showed the former Chelsea boss yelling repeatedly at the referee as he tried to make his point.
Mourinho’s anger continued to bubble over whilst his own coaching staff tried to restrain him from punishment. However, they were unsuccessful, as Chiffi issued a red card to the Roma boss.
Eventually, Mourinho made his way up into the stands to sit amongst the crowd. Meanwhile, the home fans chanted their manager’s name and cheered at the passionate outburst from Jose.
Unfortunately, Mourinho’s fiery touchline antics did little to spark a response from his side.
Roma 0 – 1 Atalanta
Jose Mourinho had seen his side go 1-0 down to the visitors in the first half. Teenager Giorgio Scalvini gave Atalanta the lead, brilliantly dispatching a shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
However, the home side nearly levelled just minutes later. Tammy Abraham thought he had an equaliser when he knocked the ball past the keeper. But unfortunately, his effort just dragged wide of the post.
Abraham then sent defender Ibanez through for a one-on-one, but he also failed to finish his chance.
Roma’s pressure continued into the second half, where their claims for a penalty earned Jose Mourinho a trip to the stands. Despite Roma having more shots and possession, though, it was Atalanta who went closest to grabbing the next goal.
At the hour mark, a corner eventually found Mario Pasalic, who saw his effort cleared off the line.
Late on, Roma substitute Eldor Shomurodov had two chances to bring his side level. Firstly, he flashed a header wide when he had the goal at his mercy. Then, following a brilliant through-ball, Shomurodov had his lay-off that would have set up Belotti intercepted.
A resilient and savvy Atalanta side frustrated their hosts for the whole game. The visitors repeatedly disrupted any momentum with smart fouls, but had a whopping seven yellow cards as a result.
Even though they had 21 shots to Atalanta’s five, Roma could not find the net and ultimately lost 1-0.
The win sees Atalanta keep pace with Napoli at the top of Serie A. Meanwhile, Roma are four points adrift of the top two in sixth.
Featured image credit: YouTube / BT Sport
