Dybala's First Goals For AS Roma Earns Praise From Mourinho

Dybala scored twice in a 3-0 win over the newly promoted side as Roma stormed to the top of the Serie A table.

Dybala's brace took him to 100 Serie A career goals and also marked the first time he has scored twice in the same game in the Italian top flight since April 2018.

The 28-year-old joined Roma on a three-year contract in the off season after leaving Juventus as a free agent.

Mourinho was keen to protect Dybala and took him off after 65 minutes, denying him the chance to get a hattrick but the former Chelsea manager was still delighted with his performance, which only bodes well for his country ahead of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

"In the other games, he couldn't quite pull off the things he wanted to at times, but he never showed the wrong attitude," Mourinho said of Dybala after the Monza game. "Great.

"For me, there can be times when a talented player helps his side but he's also a bit isolated from it.

"But with us, Paulo is a great talent who also plays for and with the team. Right now, when it comes to the defensive side of the game, he's doing a great job for us – and that's not something that he was born to do.

"When he came off today, he said to me: 'Boss, if I carried on I would have got my third.' I told him: 'Get it against Udinese instead!'

"It's important to manage him a bit, because he has had a bit of bad luck with injuries in the past and he did not play a huge amount last season. Right now, his levels are improving.

"For us, he’s great, and I can already see what is going to happen in Qatar. Maybe the Argentina coach should offer us a bottle of wine."