Roma defeated Fiorentina 3-1 thanks to a Henrikh Mkhitaryan's goal and a brace from Jordan Veretout.
Speaking after the game, Mourinho said;
“It was a real game, entertaining, even though we didn’t play very well. We were good 11 against 11, 10 against 10 good, but not 11 against 10,” Mourinho told DAZN.
“That’s when we lost our reference points, oddly had more difficulty pressing. Once we lost Zaniolo, we got back into the game, scored two, then three and from then on had control.
“After the match, I went to Vincenzo Italiano and told him that Fiorentina are a team who clearly have a great coach.”
Mourinho was impressed with Roma's new recruits Tammy Abraham and Eldor Shomurodov in their debuts for the side.
“It’s not easy to leave someone on the bench, but Shomurodov can play on the left, he can be a forward with Tammy as well. At this moment, neither of them are in the same condition as the players who worked in pre-season training from the first day, so I figured to use Pellegrini behind.
“Shomu is very dangerous attacking the space, Tammy is more of a reference point, so even if he wasn’t tired at that stage, I would’ve made the substitution a few minutes later anyway.
“We have many different solutions, but at this moment what I like is the spirit, the defensive organisation is getting there, but Fiorentina made it very, very difficult for us. Italiano deserves a lot of credit, because he has his team playing very, very well so early into the season.
“I really hope Fiorentina the best, as they will do well this season and cause a lot of problems for everyone.”
Roma will face newcomers Salernitana in their second game of the season on Sunday.
