Jose Mourinho gives secret note to ballboy who passes it onto goalkeeper Rui Patricio as nine-man Roma hold on for dramatic point against Fiorentina

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Nine-man Roma held on for a dramatic point against Fiorentina on Sunday night
During the dying embers of the game, a ballboy passed a note onto Rui Patricio
There's a lot of anger at Man United - it's them against the world! Listen to It's All Kicking Off

By Will Pickworth For Mailonline

Published: 10:04 GMT, 11 December 2023 | Updated: 10:40 GMT, 11 December 2023

Jose Mourinho was spotted handing a tactical note to a ballboy which was in turned passed onto Roma goalkeeper Rui Patricio on Sunday night.

The Italian side faced off against Fiorentina at the Stadio Olympico in a huge clash in the race for the top four in Serie A.

Roma went ahead early on through Romelu Lukaku but disaster struck midway through the second half when Nicola Zalewksi was dismissed for a second bookable offence, with Lucas Martinez Quarta equalising minutes later.

Things got even worse when Lukaku was sent off for a bad challenge with Roma left desperately clinging on for a point.

The cameras then caught Mourinho - known for his gamesmanship tactics down the years - writing a note on a piece of paper.

Never change Jose Mourinho 😅

Roma were down to 9 men at home, needing a draw to stay in the top 4, when the cameras caught Mourinho passing a note to a ballboy to give to Rui Patrício... 🧠 pic.twitter.com/qOsWLHjzke

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 11, 2023

Jose Mourinho was spotted handing a note to a ballboy during Roma's draw with Fiorentina

The ballboy was told to pass it on to Roma goalkeeper Rui Patricio as they tried to hold on

It was a hugely dramatic end to the game after Mourinho's side were reduced to nine men

He alerted a ballboy who was told to give it to former Wolves stopper Patricio, with the Portuguese star pausing for a moment to take all the instructions in.

Patricio then passed it back to the ballboy - with the incident coming in the 90th minute.

The TV cameras caught the details of the note, which appeared to be tactical instructions.

Roma ultimately held on for the draw, which keeps them in fourth place after 11 games.

However, the table is extremely close in Italy, with Roma's arch-rivals Lazio just four points behind them despite languishing in 10th.

The TV cameras caught the details of the note, which appeared to be tactical instructions

Mourinho is in his third season with Roma and won the Europa Conference League with them

The point caps a good run of form for Roma, with Mourinho's side losing just one of their past nine games after a difficult start to the season.

Mourinho is now in his third season in the Italian capital, with the iconic Portuguese coach having won 65 of his 130 games in charge.

In his first campaign, he helped Roma win the Europa Conference League, before they lost on penalties to Sevilla in last season's Europa League final.