Spalletti lashes out at Mourinho over title jibe

AS Roma coach Luciano Spalletti on Friday hit out at Inter Milan counterpart Jose Mourinho after the Portuguese coach claimed the Romans would win nothing this season.

Spalletti accused Mourinho of being afraid of Manchester United ahead of the Champions League second round, second leg ties next week.

Mourinho angered Spalletti by claiming in midweek that Roma would win nothing this season despite having many good players he himself would like to sign.

The former Chelsea boss had reacted furiously to suggestions his team had got a penalty they did not deserve in last weekend’s 3-3 draw with Roma.

“Mourinho’s words surprised me a little bit because on Sunday after the match he gave me a cuddle and wished us luck ahead of the Arsenal match (in the Champions League),” said Spalletti.

“But then he wished bad luck on us with that terrible and bad thing he said about winning no titles.

“I know that if we don’t finish fourth and we don’t win anything I will have failed on a personal level but with his behaviour he showed that he has lost his serenity and security.

“Mourinho needs to keep calm, he has a very strong team. This thing he said about us winning no titles seemed to me to be more a sign of fear ahead of the Manchester United match.”