'Better to lose once 4-0 than four times 1-0' - Mourinho stays positive after Roma's thrashing at Udinese - but still aims dig at referee

• Roma's first loss of the season
• Heaviest Serie A defeat for Mourinho
• Match officials criticised

WHAT HAPPENED? Destiny Udogie, Lazar Samardzic, Roberto Pereyra and Sandi Lovric were all on target as Udinese outclassed Mourinho's Roma and climbed up to fourth place in the league table.

WHAT WAS SAID: “My explanation is it was a difficult game, a difficult opponent that knows how to play this type of game," Mourinho told DAZN after the match. “I will say that I prefer to lose one match 4-0 than four matches 1-0. It’s tough for us and the fans to swallow, but this is life, we have another game on Thursday and we go forward."

The Portuguese added on the match officials: "When you lose 4-0, you cannot talk about the referee, but when we heard this was the referee for the game, we realised he was the perfect official for a team like Udinese to play at home. The first yellow card went to the artist of the match, that says it all."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Paulo Dybala picked up the first booking of the match in the 45th minute and Lorenzo Pellegrini was then cautioned in the 52nd minute, leaving Mourinho infuriated. Roma also had a penalty appeal turned down as they lost their 100 per cent record at the start of the 2022-23 campaign.

STORY IN THREE PHOTOS:

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DID YOU KNOW? This was only the third time in Mourinho's career that his team lost by a margin of four or more goals. Previously his Real Madrid side lost 5-0 against Pep Guardiola's Barcelona in 2010 and then as Manchester United boss he lost 4-0 to Antonio Conte's Chelsea in 2016.

WHAT NEXT FOR ROMA? Roma will next play against Ludogorets on September 8 in a Europa League group stage clash.