Jose Mourinho has demanded even more from Roma's derby hero Tammy Abraham, insisting he has not yet earned the right to be called a "fantastic" player.
Abraham scored twice in Roma's 3-0 victory over Lazio at Stadio Olimpico on Sunday, which ensured that Mourinho's side leapfrogged their arch-rivals in the Serie A standings.
The Portuguese was pleased with the striker's latest display, but has now challenged him to carry the same "attitude" into games on a more consistent basis.
What's been said?
"When you say Abraham is fantastic I disagree, he can do even more," Mourinho told DAZN when quizzed on Abraham's man-of-the-match showing.
"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."
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The Roma boss added on his pride after seeing the team execute his gameplan perfectly: "Great performance. 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."
Abraham's stellar debut season at Roma
More than a few eyebrows were raised when Roma paid £34 million ($45m) to sign Abraham from Chelsea last summer as the England international departed Stamford Bridge after falling down the squad pecking order under Thomas Tuchel.
Mourinho placed his trust in Abraham right from the beginning, though, and he has rewarded his manager by hitting 23 goals in 40 appearances across all competitions in 2021-22.
The 24-year-old set a new record for the most goals in a debut season for Roma after his brace against Lazio, which had previously been shared by club legends Gabriel Batistuta and Vincenzo Montella, both of whom managed 21.
Reece James defends Abraham
Reece James, a former Chelsea team-mate of Abraham's, took to social media to express his support for the Roma striker following his brace against Lazio
On his Instagram story, James posted a photo of Tammy Abraham with the caption, “Numbers don’t lie. Pay some respect please”, in reference to the amount of goals the England international has scored since joining Mourinho’s side.
The two played alongside each other for two seasons at Chelsea before Abraham departed for Roma in 2021.