A Jose Mourinho masterclass has seen the former Tottenham Hotspur manager get revenge over his former side as Roma ground out a 1-0 pre-season win over Tottenham in the I-Tech Cup in Israel on Saturday night.
Mourinho was sacked by Spurs and returned to Italy to take over at Roma ahead of the start of last season.
The match has seen two strong lineups named, with Antonio Conte picking a team that included Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, and new signings Yves Bissouma and Ivan Perisic from the start.
Ex-Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham and former Manchester United defender Chris Smalling started for the Giallorossi, who also began with marquee summer arrival Paulo Dybala. Roger Ibanez‘s powerful first-half header secured a win for Mourinho as Tottenham struggled for fluency throughout the game.
Journalists from The Sun praised the good performance of the Roma team. Some commented that the man of the match should go to Roger Ibanez. Not only did he score the winner, but he was excellent defensively for Mourinho’s side. Dybala played well on his Roma debut. He got the assist for Ibanez’s goal from the corner, and almost scored within a minute of putting on a Roma shirt.
Fans have been quick to react to Mourinho’s tactics and his side’s performance over his old club, who sacked the Portuguese gaffer in April of last year after 17 months in charge.
Several fans showed their support of Mourinho’s tactics and Roma’s performance under the post, with one simply adding: “Tactical and pragmatic.”
Another also stated: “I laugh when people say Mourinho is finished. Man still got the juice.” Meanwhile, FlashScore reported the result by writing: “A Jose Mourinho masterclass. Tottenham have been beaten by their former manager’s Roma side.”