Roma boss Jose Mourinho was reluctant to praise Tammy Abraham, despite his brace in a 3-0 victory over Lazio on Sunday, saying: ‘When you say Abraham is fantastic, I disagree.’
The England star’s superb debut season in Italy continued in fine style in the Rome derby, taking his tally to 23 goals in all competitions during this campaign already.
His move from Chelsea last summer is paying off, but Mourinho wants to see more from him, not just in terms of getting goals.
The Portuguese manager was handing out a compliment in his own unique way, saying that the in-form attacker can do even more, because he has that much potential.
‘Great performance,’ Mourinho told DAZN after the 3-0 win at the Stadio Olympico.
‘Today was really special because it seemed that everything we had planned was put on the field, Lazio in the second half tried to play with pride but we never lost control. No doubt, the boys deserved the victory.
‘When you say Abraham is fantastic I disagree, he can do even more. I demand a lot of him because I know his potential, I’m not talking about goals but he must play every game with this attitude.’
Abraham’s remarkable campaign is put into context by the fact he made Roma history with his two goals on Sunday.
Gabriel Batistuta and Voncenzo Montella shared the club record for most goals in a debut campaign with 21, but now Abraham has moved past them and onto 23.
