Mourinho makes 'smoking' jibe at Sarri ahead of Roma-Lazio derby

Roma boss Jose Mourinho has been up to his old tricks again as he attempts to play mind games with Lazio's Maurizio Sarri ahead of the upcoming derby.

The Portuguese manager saw his Roma side face Vitesse in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night, while Lazio were not in action..

Roma and Lazio's upcoming clash is a crucial one in the race for the Champions League qualification spots, and Mourinho expressed concern about the turnaround for his players.

What has been said?

Mourinho told Sky Sport Italia: "Obviously, I am not happy that we played today with many players who will also have to be there on Sunday, while tonight Lazio are home smoking cigarettes with Sarri, but it’s because Vitesse are really good!"

In his post-match press conference, Mourinho added: "Now Sarri is at home smoking his cigarette while I go home trying to think how we can recover from this for Sunday."

What's the situation?

Sarri's Lazio sit in fifth place with 49 points, seven points away from Juventus in the final Champions League qualification spot of fourth place.

Mourinho's Roma are currently just one point behind their local rivals but are in seventh place, with Atalanta ahead of them on goal difference with a game in hand too.

Further reading

• Jorginho's agent opens up on his future
• Allegri and Juventus' identity crisis
• Anguissa claims Napoli aren't thinking of the title