27 May 2023 , 23:00
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Jose Mourinho's Roma saw their hopes of a top-four Serie A finish dashed for good on Saturday, and the manager opted out of press duties after his team lost to Fiorentina.
The Giallorossi have had one eye on Europe for some time, with six winless games preceding their trip to Tuscany. They took an early lead against Fiorentina through Stephan El Shaarawy, only for the Viola to turn things around with two late goals.
Mourinho was shown a yellow card by referee Giovanni Ayroldi, and it wasn't the first time the Portuguese has run into trouble with officials. He will miss the season closer against Spezia, but avoided speaking to the media after the latest defeat as he prepares his team for the upcoming Europa League final.
According to Football Italia, Mourinho was keen that he and his staff left their post-match responsibilities to one side in order to focus on the upcoming Europa League final. Roma take on Sevilla in Budapest on Wednesday, with the winner guaranteed a place in next season's Champions League.
Roma's recent slump has seen them lose ground on the top four, and not even a points deduction for rivals Juventus has been enough to lift them back up the table. Mourinho's men sit four points adrift of fourth-place AC Milan with only their Spezia game to go.
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El Shaarawy's early opener threatened to give the team from the capital a glimmer of hope, and they were still in front when Mourinho picked up a yellow card just under 10 minutes from time. However, late goals from Luka Jovic and Jonathan Ikone meant the points stayed in Florence.
What did you make of Jose Mourinho's behaviour? Have your say in the comments section.
Jose Mourinho was shown a late yellow card in Roma's defeat (Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)Fiorentina, like their opponents, have a European final on the horizon. Vincenzo Italiano's side will face West Ham in the Europa Conference League final on June 7, with Mourinho's Roma having won the inaugural edition of the competition in 2022.
“We just needed to be more clinical in front of goal,” Italiano told DAZN (via RomaPress). “We controlled the game and even when we were down we created plenty of chances.
"In the end we were rewarded. We put a lot of heart into this game because we wanted to win in front of our home crowd.”
Over in Spain, Roma's Europa League final opponents also threw away an early lead to go into the final off the back of a defeat. Sevilla flirted with relegation earlier in the season before pulling away from danger under manager Jose Luis Mendilibar, but fell short against Real Madrid on Saturday.
Rafa Mir fired the finalists into an early lead against opponents already assured of a top four finish. A double from Rodrygo turned the game on its head, though, while Marcos Acuna was shown a late red card for Mendilibar's team.