Although José Mourinho didn’t like Nicolò Zaniolo’s reaction against Triestina, he reportedly defended the midfielder in the dressing room after Roma‘s latest friendly encounter.
Zaniolo and Triestina defender Walter Lopez clashed in the final minutes of a friendly at the Stadio Nereo Rocco on Wednesday.
Mourinho didn’t like Zaniolo’s reaction during Roma friendly
Il Corriere dello Sport reported Mourinho didn’t like Zaniolo’s reaction even though Triestina defender Lopez had tried to hit the midfielder with the ball after fouling him on the edge of the box.
However, a different report from the same paper suggests Mourinho also defended his player at the end of the game, asking for “respect for a guy who has suffered many injuries in his career.”
According to the report, Zaniolo and Mourinho met Triestina players in the dressing room after the game and the Italian midfielder appreciated that the Special One took his side in front of their opponents.
Triestina- #Roma , furia #Mourinho: ' #Zaniolo non si tocca' https://t.co/J6C2G5TTFp pic.twitter.com/QBc9f4zV2n
— calciomercato.com (@cmdotcom) July 23, 2021
Zaniolo has returned to action after missing the entire 2020-21 campaign due to a knee injury.
The 22-year-old sustained two knee surgeries in 2020, the first one in January and the second one in September.