ECL: Jose Mourinho’s Roma, Nuno’s Tottenham lose to minnows

Jose Mourinho‘s Roma had to face a humiliating defeat in the
hands of Norwegian team Bodø/Glimt, who routed them 6-1 in the Europa
Conference League on Thursday.

This is the first time the Portuguese manager has seen one
of his teams concede six goals in a game.

Roma has been touted as one of the big favorites to win
UEFA‘s new third-tier competition but they saw themselves trail 2-0 after just
20 minutes into the game. They managed to hold that scoreline till the halftime
whistle, even halving it but then went on to concede four more goals after the break. It was the
Italian team’s first loss after winning its first two group games.

Erik Botheim and Ola Solbakken scored two goals apiece for
Bodø/Glimt, while Patrick Berg and Amahl Pellegrino added one each for the
Norwegian champion. Roma Forward Carles Pérez had made it 2-1 in the first
half.

After three games, Bodø/Glimt tops the table in Group C with
seven points, ahead of Roma who have six points so far.

Mourinho hopes to become the first manager to win all three
current major UEFA club trophies, having won the Champions League twice (with
Porto and Inter Milan) and the UEFA Cup/Europa League twice (with Porto and
Manchester United).

Tottenham Hotspur, who are also one of the favourites to win the
tournament this season, also had a setback as  Nuno Espirito Santo’s team lost 1-0 to Vitesse
in the Netherlands.

Tottenham rotated its entire starting 11 from the team that
won at Newcastle 3-2 in the Premier League on Sunday and left star striker
Harry Kane at home.

The London team badly missed Kane’s scoring touch and
creativity in Arnhem.

Bryan Gil had Spurs’ best chance but hit the bar. Maximilian
Wittek volleyed home the winner in the 78th minute for the hosts.

(With AP inputs)