Roma started struggling in Serie A without Mourinho

Roma has a personnel crisis in this match when striker Tammy Abraham and midfielder Marash Kumbulla are injured. Dybala and Pellegrini are suspended for accumulating enough yellow cards from last season.

In the press conference before the start of the game, Mourinho once complained that the players were still punished despite entering the new season and said that this was an outdated regulation.

Mourinho himself and assistant Salvatore Foti were both banned for the first 10 days of Serie A due to insults to referee Daniele Chiffi after the Monza match on May 3. This means that the Portuguese coach will also miss the next match against Verona on August 26.

Since assistant Stefano Rapetti did not have the necessary coaching qualifications, Director Bruno Conti had to go down to the field to direct. This is the first time Conti has stood in the technical area since June 2005, when he worked as an interim coach to lead Roma for 15 matches.

Short of personnel, Roma experienced a difficult match and let Salernitana hold a 2-2 draw right at the Olimpico. Andrea Belotti opened the scoring in the 17th minute. But in the 49th minute, the hosts let Salernitana lead 2-1 from Antonio Candreva's double. It wasn't until the 82nd minute that Roma equalized 2-2 thanks to Belotti. The brace against Salernitana was Belotti's first two goals for Roma in Serie A, ending a streak of 34 games in the league since his time with Torino against Empoli in May 2022.

In the second round of Serie A this weekend, Roma is Verona's guest, and Juventus returns home to Bologna.