Jose Mourinho makes flying start on Serie A return as clinical Roma thrash Fiorentina

The standing ovation that greeted Tammy Abraham’s substitution epitomized the joy AS Roma fans felt during Sunday’s Serie A clash against Fiorentina. The England international joined Giallorossi just a few days ago but he’s already become a fan favorite, just like their manager Jose Mourinho.

What is not to love about this Roma team? They have been free-scoring since Mourinho joined and they’ve now taken their impressive pre-season form into the main campaign.

The Portuguese is still getting to know his players but the early signs look promising. On Sunday, they showed great fight and character to beat Fiorentina 3-1 at the Stadio Olimpico.

The boss is always looking at new ways to gain an advantage... 🎶 More ➡️ https://t.co/UfyWhSZIIE #ASRoma #RomaFiorentina pic.twitter.com/no8HiqXc9i

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) August 23, 2021

As far as debuts go, Mourinho couldn’t have asked for anything more on his return to Serie A.

The Portuguese boss left Italy in the summer of 2010 with many good memories, having led Inter Milan to the treble of league, Coppa Italia and UEFA Champions League.

His return has been equally glorious. While an early red card to Fiorentina’s Bartlomiej Dragowski worked in Roma's favor, they still had to work their socks off to get the three points. A goal from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and a brace from Jordan Veretout sealed the win for Roma

Mourinho’s side were threatening and clinical, resulting in a perfect start for the team and their new manager.

50 - José #Mourinho has become the fastest manager to reach 50 Serie A wins (77 games) in the three points for a win era (since 1994-95). The Portuguese coach is also the fastest manager to have reached 50 wins both in Premier League (63 games) and in LaLiga (62). Perfectionist. pic.twitter.com/4rv8AOGX1l

— OptaPaolo 🏆 (@OptaPaolo) August 22, 2021

Mourinho enters history books on Serie A return

The victory over Fiorentina saw the 58-year-old break yet another record in his managerial career. The Portuguese became the fastest manager to reach 50 wins in Serie A (77 matches), Premier League (63 matches) and La Liga (62 matches). But he still wants to see improvements in his team.

“It was a real game, entertaining, even though we didn’t play very well. We were good 11 against 11, 10 against 10 good, but not 11 against 10,” Mourinho said, as quoted by Football Italia.

“That’s when we lost our reference points, oddly had more difficulty pressing. Once we lost Zaniolo, we got back into the game, scored two, then three and from then on had control. After the match, I went to Vincenzo Italiano and told him that Fiorentina are a team who clearly have a great coach.”

This Roma team has plenty of potential and the players seem to enjoy playing under Mourinho. It’s early days yet, but this has all the signs of a fruitful partnership.