Jose Mourinho has got his desired signing in Tammy Abraham and tonight he recorded a win in his competitive debut on the bench of his new club AS Roma. The yellow-reds returned from a tricky trip to Trabzon in Turkey in the newly-founded European competition.Lorenzo Pellegrini and Eldor Shomurodov scored for the Romans in their first-ever Conference League match, while Danish striker Andreas Cornelius got a temporary equaliser for the Turks.🇹🇷 Trabzonspor 1-2 Roma 🇮🇹Jose Mourinho gets his first official win as Roma manager ✅ pic.twitter.com/25tkgRQAxL— Goal (@goal) August 19, 2021 The Giallorossi seemed shaken and Rui Patricio had to make two saves on Anthony Nwakaeme, but they recovered and restored their lead on a corner. Mancini’s header bounced off the inside of the upright and Shomurodov was quickest to react on the rebound.This was the first competitive game for Jose Mourinho, whereas the Turkish hosts had already played three matches. The second leg of this play-off will be at the Stadio Olimpico next Thursday.Many matches were played across the continent in the Europa Conference League play-off round. It’s a competition that’s viewed as a blessing by small clubs, but more of a nuisance by some of the wealthier ones. Case in point: Tottenham Hotspur.Sunday, 16.00: (3.10) Wolverhampton (3.10) Tottenham (2.45)Mourinho’s previous club fielded what looked like a reserve side with only a few senior players in their ranks. Manager Nuno Espirito Santo handed debuts to new boys Bryan Gil, Pierluigi Gollini and Cristian Romero, but the Cockerels looked second-best all night and were deservedly beaten by Portuguese side Pacos de Ferreira.The brave hosts threatened throughout the first half and they’ve gotten the unlikely winner just before the break. Lucas Silva was given too much space and time by Tottenham defenders and he steadied himself to slide a low shot past Gollini. The Portuguese side, who finished fifth in the Primeira Liga last season, retreated and defended their lead throughout the second half as toothless Spurs failed to register a shot on target over 90 minutes.📅 Sunday✅ Beat @ManCity in @PremierLeague.📅 Thursday❌ Lost v @FCPF in UEFA Europa Conference League play-off 1st leg.😅 @SpursOfficial being @SpursOfficial. pic.twitter.com/CUyPZibN4R— SPORF (@Sporf) August 19, 2021 Bryan Gil was one of the better performers for the English team who will have a chance to overturn the deficit next week. Perhaps Espirito Santo picks a stronger side then.Elsewhere in the competition, there were convincing wins for German side Union Berlin, Dutch powerhouse Feyenoord and Ligue 1 outfit Stade Rennes and Czech club Jablonec. We’ve also seen two 3-3 draws, in the matches between Neftci and Maccabi Haifa and also between Anderlecht and Vitesse.
