Davide Santon

Jose Mourinho oversaw a goal-fest in his first game as Roma boss, with his new side hitting 10 goals past a lower-league Italian team in a friendly on Thursday.  

The former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham head coach was appointed by Roma back in May, and was officially unveiled last week.

The Portuguese defended his recent track record during his first press conference, and on the pitch his reign got off to an ideal start.

Playing in Trigoria, Roma recorded a 10-0 victory in their first friendly of the season against Montecatini, who play in Serie D, which is split into nine regional divisions.

Borja Mayoral scored a hat-trick, with Carles Perez, Gianluca Mancini (not related to Italy’s Euro 2020-winning coach), Riccardo Calafiori, Nicolo Zaniolo, Nicola Zalewski and Amadou Diawara also on target in addition to a Santi own goal.

“We leave Rome and Trigoria at the end of a wonderful and unforgettable day for which we thank the AS Roma for the hospitality and hospitality,” Montecatini said on Facebook afterwards.

“On to the next!” Roma defender Chris Smalling said on Twitter – their next friendly is against Serie B side Ternana on Sunday.

Roma are in talks to sign Manchester United left-back Alex Telles, according to Sky in Italy.

Telles was signed from Porto last summer for £15.4m to provide competition for Luke Shaw at Old Trafford.

However, the England international responded well to Telles’ arrival and had his best season in a United shirt after years of inconsitency, keeping the Brazil international to just nine Premier League appearances.

Roma, now managed by former United boss Jose Mourinho, are in the market for a left-sided defender after Leonardo Spinazzola picked up an injury while representing Italy at the European Championships.

Mourinho confirmed Spinazzola, who was named in the Euro 2020 Team of the Tournament, will be facing a few months out after rupturing his Achilles.

“We all feel sorry about the loss of Spinazzola for a few months but that is football and we have to be ready to start next week,” he said on Instagram at the start of July.

Telles, 28, signed a contract with United on Deadline Day in October last year until June 2024, with the option for an additional 12 months.

Rashford to have shoulder surgery – could be out until October

Marcus Rashford faces approximately 12 weeks out, once the Manchester United and England forward undergoes shoulder surgery later this month, the PA news agency understands.

The 23-year-old made five substitute appearances for the Three Lions during their run to the Euro 2020 final, where he hit the post from the spot in Sunday’s penalty shoot-out loss to Italy.

Rashford, who has been met with a groundswell of support in the wake of some sickening abuse, is now set to go under the knife to fix a long-standing shoulder complaint.

PA understands that the forward wanted the operation done straight after the Euros, but it will not be until later in July due to the availability of the requisite surgeon.

Goalkeeper Rui Patricio has completed his move to Roma, with Wolves set to replace him with Olympiakos’ Jose Sa.

Roma will pay Wolves around £10.25m for the 33-year-old, who links up with Portuguese compatriot and new Roma boss Jose Mourinho.

Patricio, who had one year remaining on his contract at Molineux, joined Wolves from Sporting Lisbon in 2018 following their promotion to the Premier League and played more than 100 times for the club.

In a statement, Wolves technical director Scott Sellars said: “We would all like to thank Rui for everything he has done for Wolves during the past three seasons.

“He has been part of the best years of the club’s recent history, in terms of the success we have had, coming to us when we were newly promoted and helping the club to achieve two seventh place finishes.

“He’s been a fantastic servant to the club, but it’s a fantastic opportunity for him to experience a new club in a new league, and a good move for everybody involved.

“We certainly wish him the very best of luck at Roma.”

New Wolves boss Bruno Lage is set to move swiftly to replace Patricio, with the club close to finalising a £6.85m deal for Olympiakos keeper Sa.

The 28-year-old – a former Portugal U21 international – has been with the Greek side for the past three seasons, helping them win the league title in 2020 and 2021.

He started his career in his homeland with Maritimo, later joining Porto before moving to Olympiakos.

Jose Mourinho defended his recent track record in the Premier League after being officially unveiled as Roma head coach on Thursday afternoon.

The Portuguese has signed a three-year deal with the Serie A club, marking his return to Italy after having led Inter Milan to an unprecedented treble of league, cup and Champions League titles 11 years ago.

Mourinho has prospered since leaving the San Siro, helping Real Madrid and Chelsea to La Liga and Premier League titles, while he won three trophies with Manchester United and helped Tottenham into last season’s League Cup final.

While he has had acrimonious departures from Chelsea, United and Tottenham – who axed Mourinho just days before their Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City – the 58-year-old insists his spells were an overall success.

“At my last three clubs I won the Premier League with Chelsea, I won three cups with Manchester United, I made it into the League Cup final with Tottenham,” he said at a press conference in the Italian capital.

“We finished 12th the year before and then we came sixth and qualified for the Europa League. What is considered a disaster for me is something that other coaches have never achieved in their lifetimes.”

Mourinho, who interrupted his first question to tear down a nearby panel that was noisily fluttering away in the background, is back in a job months after his Tottenham sacking and is relishing the chance to get started.

“There is a fantastic bond between Roma and the city and that brings a lot of responsibility with it and I feel that, but we are not here on holiday, we are here to work,” Mourinho added.

“The next challenge is always the most important, this is the next challenge so it is the most important.

“We are not going to change things when we are not yet aware of everything we have within the group. It is very important to get to know them.”

Italy defender Leonardo Spinazzola will be out “for a few months” after rupturing his Achilles tendon, says new Roma boss Jose Mourinho.

Spinazzola was one of the standout performers at Euro 2020 before he suffered a ruptured Achilles during Friday’s 2-1 quarter-final win over Belgium.

The Roma full-back pulled up as he ran forward during the second half of Italy’s victory in Munich and was visibly upset as he was stretchered off.

Mourinho admitted Roma will be without Spinazzola “for a few months” when addressing fans from the club’s pre-season preparations.

“We all feel sorry about the loss of Spinazzola for a few months but that is football and we have to be ready to start next week,” he said on Instagram.

The 28-year-old underwent tests at the Sant’Andrea Hospital in Rome after Friday’s game, and it was established he had suffered a “subcutaneous rupture of the left Achilles tendon”.

The injury is a major blow for Roberto Mancini’s Italy side who play Spain in the semi-finals of Euro 2020 at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday.

Mourinho is currently observing Roma’s pre-season training from a distance during his quarantine period before taking up his managerial responsibilities in full on Tuesday.