Serie A

ROMA manager Jose Mourinho admits he is “jealous” of Bayern Munich.That’s despite the two sides playing in no competitions together this season.
Roma boss Jose Mourinho says he has ‘turned envious’ of Bayern MunichCredit: Rex
Mourinho, 60, is yet to manage in Germany despite taking charge of clubs in England, Italy and Spain.
The Special One has been at Roma since 2021 and led them to victory in last season’s Europa Conference League.
Mourinho is now hoping to follow it up with success in this term’s Europa League.
And Roma have one foot in the quarters after a 2-0 win in the first leg of their last 16 tie against Real Sociedad.
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However, Mourinho feels the game would have been less of a slog if he had more options on his bench.
Injury-prone Paulo Dybala was forced to play the full 90 minutes.
And Mourinho admits he would have loved to have had Bayern Munich’s subs warming his bench.
The Bundesliga champions booked their place in the Champions League quarters with a 2-0 win over PSG on Wednesday.
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Bayern showed off their extraordinary strength in depth by subbing on Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Sadio Mane and Joao Cancelo.
And Mourinho jokingly admitted he was quietly “envious” of Julian Nagelsmann’s incredible options.
He said: “I am actually not a jealous man, but when I was who Bayern subbed in with Gnabry, Mane and Sane, I did indeed turn a bit envious.
“One of them would be sufficient for me. Then we could have subbed out Dybala and perhaps scored another goal.”
Mourinho’s own future at Roma is under the spotlight this summer.
West Ham are thought to be interested in the ex-Chelsea, Man Utd and Spurs boss.
And former Blues gaffer Thomas Tuchel is already being lined up as his replacement. More

ROMA’S clash with Sassuolo was marred by a pair of low blows after two players kicked each other in the GROIN.Marash Kumbulla saw red on the stroke of half time after booting Domenico Berardi between the legs as he lay on the ground.
Marash Kumbulla was sent off as Roma lost at home to SassuoloCredit: Getty
He punted Domenico Berardi between the legs and gave away a penaltyCredit: Twitter
Another angle then showed that Sassuolo player had actually kicked him in the privates firstCredit: Twitter
However, another angle showed exactly why the Roma star reacted that way – and it was because he had also been punted below the belt first.
After a tangle in the box, a fresh angle showed that Berardi had kicked his rival in the private parts as he was getting to his feet.
That caused a furious reaction, but somehow VAR missed the Sassuolo ace’s attack, and it was only the Albanian international that was given his marching orders.
It led to Sassuolo also being awarded a penalty and, after a lengthy delay, Berardi dusted himself off to convert and fire his team into a 3-1 lead.
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Referee Luca Marelli explained to DAZN why Kumbulla was sent off and the reason Sassuolo were awarded a penalty after the fiery Serie A clash.
He said: “It is your classic example of violent conduct. It was a kick to an opponent with the ball in play, so if the ball is still in play, then there can be both technical and disciplinary action.
“The ball was in Rui Patricio’s arms, but the referee had not blown the whistle to stop play.
“VAR therefore called the referee back for the on-field review, as the kick was very, very obvious.”
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Armand Lauriente’s quickfire double had fired the visitors into an early two-goal lead before Nicola Zalewski pulled one back.
Paulo Dybala made it 2-3 after the break but Andrea Pinamonti grabbed a fourth for Sassuolo.
Georginio Wijnaldum got a late consolation for Jose Mourinho’s Roma but it was too little, too late. More

A RECENT Serie A title winner has sensationally claimed that he can drink 20 shots and then still perform on the pitch.The 34-year-old Belgian international midfielder was part of Antonio Conte’s Inter Milan side that became Italian champions in 2021.
Radja Nainggolan says he can drink 20 shots and still perform the next dayCredit: Getty
Now Radja Nainggolan is back in Italy after signing with lowly SPAL for “peanuts” in January following the end of his controversial stint at Antwerp.
Ex-Cagliari ace Nainggolan first lost his licence for drink-driving and speeding, just ONE week into his Antwerp career.
And in October he was suspended indefinitely for smoking an e-cigarette on the bench.
He ended up being forced to work with the youth team before leaving by mutual consent.
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Now he has hit the headlines again by insisting that he could down 20 shots the night before a match and still play the same.
That was after former Roma sporting director Walter Sabatini suggested to La Gazzetta dello Sport that if he hit the booze his performances never dipped while he played for him.
Nainggolan has now told Corriere della Sera: “As a boy I suffered, my family was poor, I made great sacrifices to become a footballer. And now, I don’t give up living, also because nature has given me a body that isn’t affected by the shenanigans I’ve done.
“Everywhere I did shenanigans. At Roma I arrived late, there were videos in which I was not very lucid in the evening and then that famous New Year’s Eve at my house…. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.
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“Maybe that was the craziest night. Well, my videos drunk, smoking and saying words out of place went around the world. I was attacked by everyone, Roma went on a rampage. And they were right.”
Responding to Sabatini’s remarks, he then said: “Sabatini? I called him and told him that eight shots weren’t enough… I can also drink 20. And then I go out on the pitch anyway.
“He loves me, he’s always advised me to have a quieter life. He thinks I would have a better career. But I don’t agree, on the pitch I gave it my all.” More