In the tunnel of the Stadio Olimpico, Jose Mourinho was breathing fire and looking for the man who had got under his skin.
Mourinho’s Roma side had just beaten Feyenoord on penalties to reach the quarter-finals of Europa League, last February, but he was in no mood to be gracious. The Portuguese Man of War had a score to settle with Arne Slot and was determined to say his piece.
Slot, the man who is expected to become Liverpool’s next king, had lit the blue touch paper in a pre-match press conference. The first leg between the sides had ended in a 1-1 draw and ahead of the return, Slot was asked if he had watched any of Roma’s recent games to learn about them.
With a wry smile, Slot replied he’d seen “one or two” but made it clear his idea of learning was watching Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. His style of football and views on how fluently the game should be played are closely aligned with the Catalan’s, not the prosaic functionality of Mourinho.
Being the man that he is, Mourinho was never going to let it lie.
