Raging Mourinho sent off as Roma lose to Atalanta

Jose Mourinho was sent off in a rage after his Roma team was defeated 1-0 at home by Atalanta in Serie A.

The head coach was furious after his team was denied a penalty in the 55th minute after Nicolo Zaniolo went down under a challenge from Caleb Okoli.

Replays showed both players grappling at each other’s shirts before Zaniolo went down, and referee Daniele Chiffi dismissed the appeals.

Mourinho joined his players in protesting the decision, storming onto the field and yelling and pointing at Chiffi before the referee brandished the red card.

In the 35th minute, Giorgio Scalvini scored the game’s only goal, a smart side-footed strike from the edge of the penalty area that arrowed through a crowd of players and into the bottom-right corner.

Roma have now lost two of their last three Serie A matches, equaling their previous 21 defeats (11W, 8D), and they sit sixth in the table after seven rounds of the season.

Atalanta’s victory propelled the visitors to the top of the table, at least for the time being, ahead of Sunday’s late game between Napoli and Milan, both of whom had a chance to take the lead.

Atalanta now has 17 points from their first seven Serie A games, a club record for this stage of the season and one more than they had in the previous season.

They’ve kept clean sheets in all four of their away games this season, with Sunday’s victory following shutouts at Sampdoria, Hellas Verona, and Monza. Atalanta has only had four consecutive clean sheets away from home twice before, in 1997 and 2016.