Tammy Abraham had a Halloween horror show on Monday, putting himself on course to win miss of the season with a nightmare effort for Roma.
The England international had the chance to give the Giallorossi a 1-0 lead in their dramatic 3-1 win away to Hellas Verona but astonishing fluffed his lines. Abraham rounded opposition goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipo after receiving a well-timed pass from Rick Karsdorp on a dangerous counter attack, only to hit the foot of the post with what looked to be a cool finish with the goal gaping.
As the Hellas defenders breathed an expected sigh of relief, Roma manager Jose Mourinho was less impressed. The former Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur boss turned his coaching staff in disbelief, raising his eyebrows at Abraham's horrific miss which came just over a week before England manager Gareth Southgate confirms his 26-man World Cup squad.
It wasn't as animated of a reaction as his infamous look of dismay back in 2018 when Marcus Rashford missed a guilt-edged chance for United in a high-pressure Champions League fixture - but the Special One's look still said it all this time around. Mourinho and Abraham's woes only worsened when Polish centre-back Pawel Dawidowicz gave Hellas the lead seven minutes later.
Fortunately for the Giallorossi, it was Dawidowicz who gave them a route back into the game after his forceful challenge on Nicolo Zaniolo resulted in him being shown a straight red card after a VAR check. Zaniolo then got his revenge by scoring an equaliser on the brink of half-time.
Roma left it late to win the match in dramatic fashion, as 18-year-old academy graduate Cristian Volpato came off the bench to bag the deceive goal with a long-range strike in the 88th minute. Stephan El Shaarawy then sealed the victory in injury time, as Roma took home a 3-1 victory to leapfrog cross-city rivals Lazio into fourth place after their slip-up.
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Mourinho's side face Lazio next Sunday in a mouthwatering derby matchup in Serie A. While the Portuguese manager was delighted to capitalise on their surprise 3-1 loss to Salernitana on Sunday, he hopes that none of his players discuss the contest until after the Giallorossi face Ludogorets Razgrad in a must-win Europa League tie on Thursday.
"The derby doesn't interest me, not at all," Mourinho told DAZN post-match, via Tuttomercatoweb. "I'm only interested in the next game. And if a coach doesn't only think about the next game, it doesn't end well. I say this because I made this mistake and it is difficult to live with it. And if any of my players talk about the derby now, they're wrong."
The 59-year-old wasn't willing to be drawn into a war of words either, as he was asked to respond to Lazio boss Maurizio Sarri 's comments about the Rome derby and possible distractions, such as Roma's crucial Europa League game at the Stadio Olimpico. "Of course not," Mourinho simply replied.
