AS Roma 1-2 Cremonese: AS Roma was eliminated in the Coppa Italia tournament on Wednesday evening, partly due to a goal by Cyriel Dessers. Jose Mourinho was furious with his players and showed it clearly.
Dessers shot Cremonese ahead after half an hour by shooting a penalty. Mourinho did not like Roma’s answer at all and the coach did not even wait for the half-time signal. Four minutes before the end of regular playing time, Mourinho already angrily strode into the catacombs.
Mourinho will undoubtedly have given his players a beating in the dressing room. The coach did not take half measures for the second half and immediately brought four new players on the field. However, it did not have the desired effect: after an own goal by Zeki Celik, Roma fell 0-2 behind.
Roma still scored, but Andrea Belotti’s goal came too late (in injury time) to make it really exciting. Cremonese therefore qualified for the semi-finals of the Italian cup tournament. Fiorentina, who defeated Torino earlier this evening, will be the opponent.
The Nicolò Zaniolo saga
Nicolò Zaniolo has sent an open letter to AS Roma supporters. The Italian, who decided the final of the Conference League against Feyenoord in May last year, wants to restore the broken relationship with his club and the supporters.
Zaniolo has been one of the most talked about players in the past transfer window. The AS Roma player was linked with a departure all month, first thanked AFC Bournemouth, then changed his mind, only to be told from England that they were no longer interested. So he stayed with AS Roma, where the supporters are now quite fed up with him. Zaniolo tries to revive the relationship with a letter.
“Many things have been said and written in recent weeks that are not true. The future is ours and I am at the complete disposal of the Roma family. The supporters welcomed me as one of them when I was an unknown player. They gave me confidence, courage and love during the dark moments of my injuries. In Tirana it felt like I had paid them back with that goal,” he said.
Relations have now soured considerably. Zaniolò refused to train, announced several times that he wanted to leave and thus angered the ultras of Roma, who would have gone far beyond the mark. “For the first time in my life I was afraid, for myself and for my family. I felt abandoned. This had never happened to me before,” the forward mentioned. Zaniolo fled Rome at night to his family’s home. If it is up to the Italian himself, he will return to the field in the shirt of the Giallorossi.
