ROME — Jose Mourinho’s pre-match accusations aimed at the referee and Sassuolo’s standout winger Domenico Berardi created plenty of controversy - and will likely result in another suspension for the veteran Portuguese coach.
There was no questioning Mourinho’s choices off the bench, though, as Roma earned its sixth win in its last eight Serie A matches on Sunday.
Substitute Rasmus Kristensen earned a penalty that Paulo Dybala converted and then the Denmark right back scored to earn Roma a 2-1 comeback win at 10-man Sassuolo.
On Saturday, Mourinho had labeled referee Matteo Marcenaro as unstable.
“We had him three times as a fourth official and I don’t think he has the emotional stability for games of this level,” Mourinho said, prompting the Italian soccer federation to open a disciplinary case against the coach.
And Mourinho wasn’t done.
He then said Berardi “exaggerates fouls to draw yellow cards,” adding that “if he was my player I wouldn’t like that at all.”
So perhaps it was no coincidence that Berardi set up the first goal, threading a pass through the area that Matheus Henrique tapped in at the far post.
Mourinho brought on Kristensen for Rick Karsdorp after halftime and the match changed when Daniel Boloca was sent off for a foul on Roma midfielder Leandro Paredes - after Marcenaro consulted the VAR.
Kristensen was then taken down between two defenders and Dybala’s penalty was accurate enough even though goalkeeper Andrea Consigli leaped in the correct direction.
Kristensen then produced a shot that took a big deflection off a defender and looped into the goal.
Roma moved up to fifth, level on points with fourth-place Napoli, which was hosting Inter Milan later.
Afterward, Mourinho made a statement in Portuguese and said that, referring to his comments about the referee, that his Italian wasn’t proficient enough to explain certain concepts.
Mourinho was suspended for two matches at the start of this season for comments about a referee at the end of last season. He was also banned for four matches by UEFA in June for verbally abusing the Europa League final referee in a stadium garage after Roma lost to Sevilla.
Fiorentina is sixth with a 3-0 win over last-place Salernitana.
Lucas Beltran converted a penalty kick for his first Serie A goal after his own backheel pass set up a foul on Arthur Melo. Riccardo Sottil scored with a long-range shot that bounced in off both the crossbar and the post. After the break, Giacomo Raspadori finished off a full team move.
With 102 goals in 2023, Fiorentina set a team record for a year in which it reached the Conference League and Italian Cup finals. The Tuscan club beat Genk on Thursday to advance in this season’s Conference League.
Bologna is seventh following a 1-1 draw at Lecce. Rocks were thrown at a bus carrying Bologna supporters to the match.
Udinese and Hellas Verona drew 3-3.
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