Mourinho taunts Lazio ahead of Derby della Capitale

Roma boss Jose Mourinho has aimed a dig at neighbours Lazio ahead of the two clubs meeting in the Derby della Capitale in Serie A this weekend.

Mourinho is still barred from speaking to Italian media by Roma but still managed to throw some blows in Lazio’s direction when he spoke at a post-match press conference following Roma’s UEFA Europa League aggregate win over Real Sociedad.

Speaking after the Real Sociedad fixture, Mourinho mocked Lazio, who got dumped out of the UEFA Europa Conference League after losing to AZ Alkmaar that same night.

Mourinho, who won the inaugural UECL with Roma last season, spoke about Lazio’s elimination from the competition, saying that it was a shame that they could not keep the trophy in the city of Rome.

“I feel sorry for UEFA, who now have to spend money to ship the Conference League trophy. It could have stayed in Rome, but now instead it’ll probably have to go to Florence,” Mourinho said.

Ahead of an already heated derby, these will certainly be viewed as fighting words and will only add to the feisty environment in which the derby will be played.

Mourinho himself is set to miss the derby as he serves the final game of his two-match suspension, which caused Roma to outlaw domestic press conferences for all its staff and players.