AS Roma won 4-1 at bottom side Cagliari, who conceded their sixth defeat in eight matches in the Italian Championship on Sunday. Houssem Aouar (19th) and Romelu Lukaku (20th) knocked out the promoted Sardinian in two minutes. In the second half, Andrea Belotti (51st) and again Lukaku (59th) completely demoralized a team which saved the honor from the penalty spot (87th).
Cagliari coach Claudio Ranieri, dean of Serie A coaches, could pay the price for this new defeat and the two points collected so far during the international break which begins this Sunday evening. His Roma counterpart, Jose Mourinho, was also playing big during this meeting while his leaders have, according to the Italian press, approached Igor Tudor, without a position since his departure from Marseille. Roma and Mourinho can breathe easy: after this second consecutive victory, a first this season in the league, they are now 10th in the standings with 11 points.
But after the international break, following the reception of Monza, AS Roma will travel to San Siro to challenge Inter on the 10th day. “We are in the process of finding solidity and consistency, it is a shame for us that there is a truce (…) I am calm on my side, I do not listen to the rumors,” said assured Mourinho, on the DAZN platform. “It’s not Lukaku’s Roma, it’s Roma, full stop. We are in a difficult position, but we are progressing, we must continue like this,” underlined the Belgian international who averages 0.83 goals per match, the best performance of his career . “I have a special relationship with (Mourinho), I trust him and he trusts me,” he added.
The only annoyance for Roma was the injury exit of its Argentinian striker Paulo Dybala, after receiving a blow to one knee, just before the break. “We will have to wait until tomorrow or the day after tomorrow to find out more, I rely a lot on what the players tell me and Paulo is not very optimistic,” admitted Mourinho. Another coach in the hot seat, that of Salernitana, Paulo Sousa, notably passed by Bordeaux, whose team is 19th (3 pts) after its defeat at Monza (3-0).
