Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho launched a stinging attack on his Serie A leaders after Sunday's draw with Roma.
Inter boss pulls no punches after stalemate with Roma
Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho launched a stinging attack on his Serie A leaders after the 1-1 draw against Roma on Sunday.
The outcome saw Inter's lead at the top of Italian top-tier reduced to five points after second-placed Juventus cruised to a 5-2 victory over struggling Atalanta.
The Italian champions' league form has been their saving grace this term, until a stuttering Group F campaign in the UEFA Champions League was at last boosted by last Wednesday's late comeback against Dynamo Kiev.
But the high of the 2-1 midweek success, which saw them leap from bottom to top of the European group, was eclipsed by the disappointing domestic weekend result, according to the Portuguese tactician.
Awful
"It has been an awful game from everyone," said Mourinho. "There was a team that was unable to win, another team that didn't want to win and someone else (referee) who made too many calls."
The Nerazzurri had gone into the fixture on the back of five consecutive victories but struggled to break down Claudio Ranieri's well-organised Roma defence.
The Capital club, who also tasted European success in midweek as they beat Premier League Fulham on home turf, took the lead from Mirko Vucinic's 13th minute goal but Samuel Eto'o earned the hosts a point early in the second half.
Zero
Inter youngster Mario Balotelli, who replaced Patrick Vieira at half-time, came under the severest of criticism by Mourinho.
"Balotelli? In my opinion he came close to a zero rating," the Inter boss added. "I didn't like how he played. He is 19 but could have done much better."
Mourinho did not believe the game had hurt his side in the title race though, adding: "I didn't like the game. The only thing that I liked was the result.
"We took a point at home against a team that has quality like Roma and that is fine."
